title: Assessment of aortic regurgitation by live three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic measurements of vena contracta area: usefulness and validation.
abstract: In this report, we evaluate 56 consecutive adult patients who underwent standard two-dimensional (2D) and live three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (3D TTE), as well as left heart catheterization with aortography (45 patients) or cardiac surgery (11 patients), for evaluation of aortic insufficiency. Similar to the method we previously described for mitral insufficiency, aortic regurgitant vena contracta area (VCA) was obtained by 3D TTE by systematic and sequential cropping of the acquired 3D TTE data set. Assessments of aortic regurgitation (AR) by aortography and surgery are compared to measurements of VCA by 3D TTE and to 2D TTE measurements of vena contracta width (VCW). Aortographic or surgical grading correlated well with 2D TTE measurements of VCW (r = 0.92), but correlated better with 3D TTE measurements of VCA (r = 0.95), with improved dispersion between angiographic grades demonstrated by the 3D TTE technique. Live 3D TTE color Doppler measurements of VCA can be used for accurate assessment of AR and are comparable to assessment by aortography.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35249, USA.
authors.forename: Ligang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Ming Chon
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Hsiung
authors.forename: Andrew P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Navin C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Nanda
authors.forename: Wei Hsian
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Mason S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Dasan E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Velayudhan
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rajdev
authors.forename: Vinod
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Patel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000145:classification / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D001027:Aortography; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D004452:Echocardiography; D018618:Echocardiography, Doppler, Color; D019560:Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D018056:Hemorheology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged