title: Right ventricular apical view--a new window for Doppler echocardiography of aortic valve stenosis.
abstract: We studied a new Doppler echocardiographic approach in 56 patients with valvular aortic stenosis from the right ventricular apex (AS-RV) and compared the transvalvular gradients with the results of the standard view from the left ventricular apex (AS-LV). AS-RV resulted in good or acceptable velocity curves in 59% of patients. The correlation between the two apical views for the peak/mean gradients were close (r = 0.95/0.96). Using all typical positions for Doppler investigation of aortic stenosis, highest peak gradients were best recorded in five cases by AS-RV. In one woman with a narrow left ventricular cavum and severe aortic stenosis, only AS-RV yielded a technically good spectral curve. Thus, in selected patients--probably those with a small left ventricular cavity or an enlarged right ventricle--AS-RV may be the best window or even the only possibility in Doppler investigation of aortic valve stenosis.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Klinik, KKH, (Akadem, Lehrkrankenhaus der Universität), Reutlingen, Germany.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Hust
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Metzler
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fritz
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Röcker
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Dickhuth
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Braun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity