[The Doppler echocardiographic method of determining right ventricular pressure in patients with congenital heart defects in the early postoperative period].

A comparative analysis of the results of invasive and noninvasive measurement of right ventricular pressure showed a high correlation for systolic (r = 0.97, P less than 0.05, n = 41) and diastolic (r = 0.89, p less than 0.05, n = 41) pressures. The noninvasive technique is applicable only in the presence of tricuspid regurgitation or that of ventricular septal defect ejection. Moreover, in slight or minimal tricuspid regurgitation when the peak of systolic regurgitation is poorly seen, there is a difference between the results of these measurements (7-10 mm Hg). It has been concluded that Doppler echocardiography is an informative noninvasive tool for measuring pressure in the right ventricle and pulmonary artery and offers an opportunity of determining pulmonary hypertension quantitatively before and after surgery.