Quantitative Evaluation of Mitral Regurgitation by Method of Proximal Flow Convergence Area

Evaluation of mitral regurgitation is İmportant in regard to treatment alternatives. Recent studies revealed that mitral regurgitation may be evaluated quantitatively by the proximal flow convergence area method. In this study we aimed to calculate the rcgurgitant volume by proximal flow convergence method, and to compare this with hemodynamic studies. The study group consisted of 46 patients comprising 34 males (74%) and 12 females (26%) with a mean age of 26. 1±8.7 years. All patients underwent cardiac catheterization with echocardiographic examination after 6 to 10 hours. Regurgitant flow volumes were compared to hemodynamic classification, while statistically significant difference was found between fourth, third, and second degrees of mitral regurgitation (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference between second and first-degree mitral regurgitation. The correlation coefficient between the grades of mitral regurgitation estimated by hemodynamic study and proximal flow convergence method was 0.80, and the correlation coefficient among hemodynamic classification of mitral regurgitation and regurgitant flow volume calculated by proximal flow convergence method was 0.76. In conclusion, assessment of regurgitant flow volume by proximal flow convergence method with color Doppler echocardiography can accurately determine hemodynamically moderate to severe mitral regurgitation. This method is a valuable noninvasive alternative to evaluate mitral regurgitation.