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[Bicuspid aortic valve. Echocardiographic diagnostic potentials]
Insights
Echocardiography effectively diagnoses bicuspid aortic valves using the excentricity index. This non-invasive method is crucial for identifying aortic valve abnormalities in patients with specific heart murmurs.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Diagnostic Techniques
Background:
- Bicuspid aortic valve is a common congenital heart defect.
- Accurate diagnosis is essential for timely intervention and management.
- Echocardiography offers non-invasive visualization of cardiac structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic potential of echocardiography for bicuspid aortic valve.
- To assess the reliability of the excentricity index in diagnosing this condition.
Main Methods:
- Echocardiographic examination of 32 patients with suspected bicuspid aortic valve.
- Calculation of the excentricity index (aortic diameter / minimal echo distance).
- Comparison with a control group of 44 patients with tricuspid aortic valves.
Main Results:
- Five patients with bicuspid aortic valve showed high excentricity index values (1.4-1.8).
- The control group with tricuspid aortic valves had a lower average excentricity index (1.28).
- The excentricity index proved to be a reliable diagnostic indicator.
Conclusions:
- Echocardiography is a highly effective non-invasive method for diagnosing bicuspid aortic valve.
- The excentricity index is a valuable parameter for identifying this condition.
- Patients with ejection murmurs and clicks of aortic origin should be screened for bicuspid aortic valve.
Abstract:
The echocardiographic potentialities in the diagnosis of bicuspid aortic valve are discussed. In the group of 32 patients examined with a clinic and murmurs suspected for that disease, the index of excentricity in five patients, was found to be respectively 1.6, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 1.5, accepted as a reliable index for the diagnosis of aortic bicuspidia. Excentricity index is equal to 1/2 of the aortic diameter, divided to the minimal distance from the diastolic echo of the closed aortic valve to the closer aortic wall. The control group consisted of 44 patients with tricuspid aortic valve, 17 of them being with aortic defect (isolated stenosis or combined aortic defect) and the rest 28 -- without valvular heart disease. Excentricity index for the control group was low -- 1.0--1.33 (average value 1.28). Conclusions are drawn that the echocardiographic method, from the group of the bloodless methods, is with the best diagnostic potentialities in the bicuspid valve and should be looked for in patients with expulsion murmur and click of aortic origin.