EFFECT OF AGING ON PULMONARY VENOUS FLOW VELOCITY PATTERN - AN ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC DOPPLER STUDY

We studied the physiology of the pulmonary venous (PV) flow by pulsed Doppler in 80 normal subjects with a wide age range to study if signif icant changes were induced by increasing age and if they could be rela ted to those occurring in the left ventricular filling as examined by the Doppler study at mitral level. The right upper pulmonary vein was visualized through the apical four-chamber view and the three phases o f the pulmonary flow recorded (systolic, diastolic and atrial reversal ). We observed a decrease in the peak of the diastolic velocity with a ging at the same time of an increase in the systolic velocity and in t he systolic/diastolic peak velocity ratio. These changes were signific antly correlated with aging, and the decrease in the diastolic velocit y was related to that of the first wave of the transmitral flow (the E wave). We did not observe any change in the peak of the atrial revers al velocity. These age-related changes in the PV flow pattern, mainly in the diastolic velocity, are probably a consequence of those occurri ng in the left ventricular filling especially in the first part of dia stole; besides, the increase in the systolic wave reflects preserved l eft atrial dynamics. These results can be used for comparison with pat terns recorded in many cardiac diseases.