Studies of the blood flow pattern in the left and right ventricular outflow tract using pulsed Doppler echocardiography.

In this paper, we reported that the main blood flow velocity in the LVOT and RVOT manifests characteristic variations with Doppler echocardiography. The volume over-load in the right heart changed the blood flow velocity pattern and the site of peak velocity in RVOT. And then, that in the left heart changed the blood flow velocity pattern and the site of peak flow in LVOT. We found a small "a" wave, which caused Ia on PCG can be recognized in LVOT during the isovolumic contraction phase. The small "a" wave and "a/H" ratio are useful criteria for detecting the changes of left ventricular contractility. There were linear correlate plot between EDP or peak-dP/dT and "a" or "a/H" in cases of HCM and IHD significantly.