Is the Corrected Carotid Flow Time a Clinically Acceptable Surrogate Hemodynamic Parameter for the Left Ventricular...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Ultrasound
• Hemodynamics
• Valvular Heart Disease

Background:

• Corrected left ventricular ejection time (cLVET) is a crucial hemodynamic parameter.
• Corrected carotid flow time (ccFT) has been proposed as a non-invasive surrogate for cLVET.
• Assessing the agreement between cLVET and ccFT is important for clinical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinical agreement between cLVET and ccFT in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
• To determine if ccFT can reliably serve as a surrogate for cLVET in a dynamic clinical setting.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-five patients with severe aortic valve stenosis undergoing TAVR were studied.
• cLVET and ccFT were measured using Doppler ultrasound before and after TAVR.
• Statistical analyses included correlation, Bland-Altman, and concordance analyses.

Main Results:

• Both cLVET and ccFT showed significant decreases after TAVR.
• Strong correlations were observed between cLVET and ccFT (ρ = 0.74–0.81, p < 0.001).
• Acceptable agreement and good trending ability (96% concordance) were found between the two measures.

Conclusions:

• ccFT demonstrates acceptable clinical agreement with cLVET in TAVR patients.
• ccFT can be considered a viable surrogate measure for cLVET in this population.
• These findings support the use of ccFT for hemodynamic assessment in valvular heart disease.