Mitral regurgitation: parameters that affect the correlation between Doppler echocardiography and contrast ventriculography.

The correlation between Doppler and contrast angiographic estimation of severity of mitral regurgitation was assessed retrospectively in 60 patients with native mitral valve disease. Results showed r = 0.82. Among 15 parameters (demographic, clinical, echocardiographic and hemodynamic) 3 were found to be associated with overestimation of the severity by Doppler: low left ventricular ejection fraction, low cardiac output, and high mean pulmonary artery capillary wedge pressure. On the other hand, a large left atrium was associated with underestimation of mitral regurgitation by Doppler. Based on that data, Doppler results were adjusted in a prospective group of 30 patients with native mitral valve disease. The correlation between contrast ventriculography and uncorrected Doppler results showed r = 0.83, while the corrected Doppler results showed r = 0.91. The study implies that although a good correlation is found between the two modalities for estimation of mitral regurgitation, a better correlation can be achieved by adjusting the Doppler results according to the above-mentioned parameters.