[Possibilities of using Doppler- and two-dimensional echocardiography for the detection and evaluation of mitral regurgitation in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and IHD].

Doppler- and two-dimensional echocardiography were employed to examine 43 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and 12 patients with coronary heart disease with different grades of circulatory insufficiency. The degree of mitral regurgitation was determined semi-quantitatively, namely depending on the distance to which the turbulent flow penetrates to the left atrium. Auscultatory symptomatology and the size of the left atrium did not always point to the degree of regurgitation. The gravity of mitral regurgitation was determined by dilatation and low contractility of the left ventricle as well as by dilatation on the mitral ring. The title methods can be used for semi-quantitative determination of mitral regurgitation and choice of the treatment tactics.