Validation of a new doppler-echocardiographic method for quantifying mitral regurgitation

The noninvasive determination of severity of mitral regurgitation (MR) is often of major clinical importance. We performed simultaneous Doppler echocardiography and left ventricular angiography in 24 patients with MR, comparing a new Doppler echocardiographic technique with angiographic criteria for severity of MR. Angiographic severity was measured on a 1+ to 4+ scale, determined by the degree of opacification of the left atrium during left ventricular systole. The echocardiographic examination consisted of color flow imaging and continuous-wave Doppler echocardiography across the mitral valve. The product of the mitral regurgitant color flow jet area and the mitral regurgitant time-velocity integral was obtained, yielding a Doppler-derived regurgitant volume across the mitral valve. Good correlations were demonstrated between the severity of angiographic MR and the Doppler-derived regurgitant volume ( r=0.831; p