Doppler sonographic examination of the internal mammary artery graft: influence of exercise.

With the frequent use and excellent longevity of the internal mammary artery graft, knowledge about the behaviour of this graft under different conditions is becoming relevant. We studied 20 patients with combined two-dimensional and pulsed Doppler sonography before and after exercise testing and established values for peak velocities and flow duration. During exercise flow duration shortened in systole and diastole by the same order of magnitude, while peak diastolic velocity especially increased during exercise.