Pulsed Doppler technique in evaluation of pulmonary hypertension.

A pulsed Doppler technique combined with cross sectional echocardiography was used to examine the flow velocity pattern in the pulmonary artery (PA) in 17 patients with PA hypertension documented by cardiac catheterization and in 16 healthy subjects as control. In healthy subjects the blood flow pattern in systole showed a round shape, in PA hypertension group it was either narrow triangular or intermediate. There was a significant correlation between the corrected acceleration time and mean PA pressure, the coefficient being -0.78. An improved correlation (r = -0.82) was found between acceleration time and natural log of mean PA pressure. Using PA acceleration time of 100 ms or less as a criteria resulted in a 76.5% sensitivity and a 100% specificity for detection of PA hypertension. This technique made the noninvasive estimation of pulmonary hypertension possible.