title: [Maximum flow velocity in the normally functioning Björk-Shiley mitral prosthesis].
abstract: The heart valve prosthesis, even with normal function produce a functional obstruction to the blood flow increasing its maximal velocity. With pulsed wave Doppler technique we measured the maximal velocity in 12 patients with normally functioning Bjork-Shiley mitral prosthesis, (group I), comparing the results with those obtained in 12 healthy persons (group II). The maximal velocity of group I was significantly higher than that of group II (p less than 0.001) and higher than the values so far reported in the literature. In 5 patients of group I the maximal velocity was above 2.6 m/sec, which is the upper limit that our Doppler unit is able to register. We conclude that the maximal velocity of blood flow through some Bjork-Shiley mitral valves with normal function may be higher than those reported in the literature. Therefore the pulsed wave Doppler technique has limited application in the evaluation of transprothetic flow.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008943:Mitral Valve
vernacular_title: Velocidad máxima del flujo en la prótesis mitral de Bjork-Shiley normofuncionante.