[Non-invasive quantitative evaluation of aortic regurgitation by ultrasonic pulsed Doppler flowmeter (author's...

A usefulness of non-invasive and quantitative evaluation of aortic regurgitation (AR) was investigated by measuring the aortic arch flow from the suprasternal notch with ultrasonic pulsed Doppler flowmeter (UPDF). Measurement of the blood flow was made on 19 patients with AR, calculating the regurgitant ratio from the waves of relative flow volume, and the estimated grade of AR was compared with the severity judged from the cineaortogram. The results were as follows: 1) The aortic arch flow was recorded in 17 out of 19 patients with AR. 2) Except mild cases, the diastolic regurgitant flow was recorded in patients with AR. 3) The regurgitant ratio obtained by the UPDF correlated well with the grade of the severity of AR judged from the cineaortogram.