Evaluation of ventricular function using Doppler echocardiography.

Doppler echocardiography is closely related to M mode and two dimensional echocardiography, although it uses reflected ultrasonic signals to examine blood flow rather than to image cardiac anatomy. It is a useful adjunct to standard echocardiographic methods when one wishes to evaluate ventricular function, but at present it plays a supporting role. In theory, Doppler techniques can be used to assess global ventricular function directly and without regard to ventricular geometry, to calculate volume flow from both the right and left ventricles, and to follow changes in ventricular stroke volume induced by interventions. In practice, various technical limitations restrict the routine clinical application of Doppler echocardiography, but solutions to several of these problems should be forthcoming. Doppler echocardiography can properly be viewed as a useful method for evaluating mechanical lesions that may mimic ventricular dysfunction, and as a promising future method for analyzing ventricular function directly.