Detection of aortic insufficiency by pulse Doppler echocardiography.

Sixty-five patients were studied for the presence of aortic insufficiency by auscultation, conventional M mode echocardiography (echo), range-gated pulse Doppler flowmeter (Doppler), and supravalvular aortic angiography. Aortic insufficiency was demonstrated angiographically in 49 patients, of which eight (16%) were missed by auscultation. Echo missed 20 (41%), and Doppler missed seven (14%). Only two (4%) were missed by auscultation and Doppler combined. All methods were highly specific, but the combination of auscultation and Doppler was the most sensitive noninvasive method for detecting aortic insufficiency.