Atrioventricular valve orifice areas in normal subjects: determination by cross-sectional and Doppler echocardiography.
Mitral and tricuspid valve orifice areas were determined in 78 healthy subjects (age range, 2 months-50 years; mean, 20 +/- 13 years; 43 male, 35 female; body surface area, 0.25-1.9 m2; mean, 1.24 +/- 0.45 m2) by a combined echo-Doppler approach to establish normal values and their relationship with body surface area. Mitral valve orifice area by direct planimetry (3.37 +/- 1.13 cm2; range, 0.52-5.6 cm2) and by continuity equation (3.62 +/- 1.08 cm2; range, 0.66-5.4 cm2) were similar (r = 0.85, P < 0.0001). Tricuspid valve orifice area (4.07 +/- 1.5 cm2; range 0.62-7.2 cm2) by continuity equation had a close correlation with mitral valve orifice area (r = 0.76, P < 0.001). Mitral and tricuspid valve orifice areas were significantly correlated to body surface area (r = 0.85 and 0.77, respectively), left and right ventricular outflow tract diameters (r = 0.90 and 0.79, respectively) and age (r = 0.70 and 0.61, respectively). These data provide normal values for atrioventricular valve orifice areas in normal subjects with a wide range of body surface area and support the practice of indexing valve area by body surface area.
Department of Cardiology, G.B. Pant Hospital, New Delhi, India.
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B
Singh
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JC
Mohan
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004452:Echocardiography; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014261:Tricuspid Valve / Q000033:anatomy & histology*