Echocardiographic reference ranges for normal cardiac Doppler data: results from the NORRE Study

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Physiology

Background:

• Accurate assessment of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function requires age and gender-specific reference values for Doppler parameters.
• Establishing these normal ranges is essential for reliable heart physiology evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine and report normal reference ranges for Doppler parameters in a large cohort of healthy volunteers.
• To provide data for the accurate assessment of LV diastolic function across different demographics.

Main Methods:

• Acquired echocardiographic data from 449 healthy volunteers (198 men, 251 women) using state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment.
• Followed European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging-approved Doppler acquisition and measurement protocols.
• Analyzed Doppler parameters including e', E/e', and systolic wave velocities (s').

Main Results:

• Most Doppler diastolic parameters (e', E/e') and right ventricle systolic s' were similar between genders.
• Left ventricle systolic s' was higher in men than women.
• Younger individuals exhibited higher E wave and e' values, which decreased with age, while the E/e' ratio increased with age.

Conclusions:

• The Normal Reference Ranges for Echocardiography (NORRE) study provides essential reference values for key Doppler parameters.
• These findings underscore the importance of utilizing age-specific reference values for diagnosing LV systolic and diastolic dysfunction.
• The data aids in the accurate estimation of LV filling pressures.