[Pulsed Doppler echocardiographic observation of right and left ventricular inflow velocity patterns in various types of arrhythmia, with special reference to the mechanism of atrioventricular regurgitation].

To investigate the possibility for detection of atrio-ventricular (A-V) regurgitation in arrhythmias non-invasively, we recorded velocity patterns of blood flow at the inflow tract of the right (RVI) and left ventricles (LVI), and at the outflow tract of the left ventricle (LVO) by pulsed Doppler echocardiography in 32 patients with various types of arrhythmia. They were six cases with supraventricular premature contraction (SVPC), 13 with ventricular premature contraction (VPC), two with second degree A-V block, five with complete A-V block and six with artificial right ventricular pacemaker. The following results were obtained. In SVPC, peak velocity of the preceding early diastolic flow of RVI and LVI was related to the coupling interval. A crucial ectopic atrial contraction occurring at the early diastole augmented right or left ventricular filling by summation of the two kinds of ventricular filling. Peak velocity of the early diastolic flow at RVI and LVI was decreased after SVPC compared with that of normal sinus rhythm. A reverse flow was not observed in RVI or LVI velocity pattern in these cases. In VPC, peak velocity of the preceding early diastolic flow at RVI and LVI was related to the coupling interval. An effective early diastolic flow was not observed when coupling interval was short. A systolic A-V reverse flow was detected in six of eight cases of VPC with compensatory pause. In these six cases, M-mode and two-dimensional echograms showed patterns of tricuspid and/or mitral valve prolapse and systolic "bulging" of the left ventricular posterior wall. Peak velocity of the blood flow at LVO was decreased in VPCs with short coupling intervals, but it was increased markedly in the next beat after compensatory pause (post-extrasystolic potentiation). Velocity pattern of a blood flow at RVI and LVI showed two types of reverse flow patterns in all cases with complete A-V block or with artificial right ventricular pacemaker; a) systolic reverse flow in beats with P wave superimposed on QRS complex or ST segment, and b) diastolic reverse flow in beats with markedly prolonged P-R intervals. Diastolic tricuspid regurgitation was demonstrated by contrast echography at the level of the tricuspid valve orifice, and diastolic mitral regurgitation by left cineventriculography. The clinical implication of pulsed Doppler echocardiography to detect A-V regurgitation during systole and diastole was discussed in various types of arrhythmia.