Phonocardiographic findings in patients with normally functioning Ionescu-Shiley prostheses.

Phonocardiographic findings are reported in 19 patients with normally functioning Ionescu-Shiley prostheses in the mitral or aortic position. Opening clicks were recorded in all 8 patients with mitral prostheses at a mean second heart sound (A2) to opening click interval of 94 ms. In 9 subjects, apical systolic murmurs were found. All 11 patients with the prosthesis in the aortic position had systolic ejection murmurs. Opening clicks were observed in 8 patients with a mean Q wave to opening click interval of 125 ms; closing clicks were found in 9 of 11. No diastolic murmurs occurred in this group. These acoustic characteristics serve as a reference source for the noninvasive evaluation of the bovine pericardial prosthesis.