Characteristics of mitral and tricuspid annular velocities determined by pulsed wave Doppler tissue imaging in healthy subjects

Assessment of myocardial velocities by Doppler tissue imaging is gaining in importance. However, generally accepted reference values are still missing . In this study we examined 62 consecutive healthy subjects (mean age 46, r ange 22-82 years) by pulsed wave Doppler tissue imaging to characterize the systolic and diastolic velocity profiles of the left and right ventricles. The subjects were divided into 3 different age-groups: group I, younger th an 40 years; group II, 40 to 59 years; and group III, 60 years and older. R ecordings were made along the long axis in the apical 4- and 2-chamber view s by using 4 sites (septal anterior, lateral, and inferior) at the mitral a nnulus and 1 site at the tricuspid annulus. Systolic mitral annular velocit y (10.3 +/- 1.4 cm/s) correlated strongly with global left ventricular func tion determined by M-mode echocardiographic mitral annular displacement (r = 0.70, P < .001). The systolic velocity was significantly lower in group I II than in group I (9.6 vs 10.8 cm/s, P < .01). A relatively weak, but sign ificant, correlation was found between systolic velocity and the age of the subjects (r = -0.43, P < .001). Mitral annular early diastolic velocity wa s also lower in group III compared with group I (11.3 vs 17.7 cm/s, P < .00 1), with a strong correlation with age (r = -0.81, P < .001) and other conv entional Doppler diastolic parameters. Both the systolic and early diastoli c mitral annular velocities at the septum were lower than at other left ven tricular sites. Tricuspid annular systolic velocity (15.2 +/- 1.9 cm/s) was higher than mitral annular systolic velocity (P < .001). Unlike mitral ann ular velocity, systolic tricuspid annular velocity was not correlated with age. However, the diastolic tricuspid annular velocities correlated well wi th transtricuspid Doppler diastolic parameters. The method of recording the annular velocities was feasible in all subjects, simple and highly reprodu cible.