Multiple aortic root echoes: clinical, radiographic, and angiographic correlations

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Diagnostic Cardiology
• Echocardiography

Background:

• M-mode echocardiography can reveal multiple diastolic echoes in the aortic root.
• These echoes may suggest aortic wall, leaflet, or coronary artery calcification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between multiple diastolic echoes in the aortic root and coronary artery calcification.
• To determine the clinical significance of these echoes in patients without significant aortic valve disease.

Main Methods:

• Evaluation of 83 patients with multiple diastolic echoes using M-mode echocardiography and cardiac fluoroscopy.
• Assessment of valvular, coronary, and aortic wall calcification.
• Exclusion of patients with significant aortic stenosis or insufficiency.

Main Results:

• Multiple diastolic echoes were highly associated with significant coronary artery calcification (64% of patients).
• Over two-thirds of these patients had multivessel coronary artery disease.
• The association remained significant in patients without severe aortic stenosis or insufficiency.

Conclusions:

• Multiple diastolic echoes in the aortic root, in the absence of significant aortic valve disease, are a strong indicator of coronary artery calcification.
• Patients presenting with these echocardiographic findings warrant further investigation for significant multivessel coronary artery disease.