Detection of mitral regurgitation by Doppler ultrasound. A comparison with left ventricular angiography

Sixty-four patients with various heart diseases were evaluated for mitral regurgitation (MR) by left ventricular angiography and pulsed Doppler ultrasound within 2-3 days. Adequate Doppler recordings were obtained from 60 patients. The sensitivity of Doppler in detecting MR was 94%, specificity 90% and predictive value for a positive and a negative Doppler examination 90 and 93%, respectively. Two of the 3 false positive Doppler recordings were from patients with coronary heart disease, ischemic papillary muscle dysfunction may have caused MR inconsistently. Two false negative Doppler recordings may be related to problems in placing the ultrasonic sample volume at the systolic retrograde blood stream in the left atrial cavity. It is concluded that pulsed Doppler ultrasound, being a transcutaneous, non-invasive method, is a valuable tool in detecting MR. So far, we have not been able to quantitate the regurgitation.