The power-velocity integral at the vena contracts - A new method for direct quantification of regurgitant volume flow

Background-Non invasive quantification of regurgitation is limited because Doppler measures velocity, not flow. Because backscattered Doppler power is proportional to sonified blood volume, power times velocity should be prop ortional to flow rate. Early studies, however, suggested that this held onl y for laminar flow, not for regurgitant jets, in which turbulence and fluid entrainment augment scatter. We therefore hypothesized that this Doppler p ower principle can be applied at the proximal vena contracta, where flow is laminar before entrainment, so that the power-times-velocity integral shou ld vary linearly with flow rate and its time integral with stroke volume (S V). Methods and Results-This was tested in vitro with steady and pulsatile flow through 0.07- to 0.8-cm(2) orifices and in 36 hemodynamic stages in vivo, replacing the left atrium with a rigid chamber and column for direct visual recording of mitral regurgitant SV (MRSV). In 12 patients, MRSV was compar ed with MRI mitral inflow minus aortic outflow and in 11 patients with 3D e cho left ventricular ejection volume-Doppler aortic forward SV. Vena contra cta power in the narrow high-velocity spectrum from a broad measuring beam was calibrated against that from a narrow reference beam of known area. Cal culated and actual flow rates and SV correlated well in vitro (r-=0.99, 0.9 9; error= - 1.6+/-2.5 mL/s, -2.4+/-2.9 mL), in vivo (MRSV: r=0.98, error=0. 04+/-0.87 mL), and in patients (MRSV: r=0.98, error= -2.8+/-4.5 mL). Conclusions-The power-velocity integral at the vena contracta provides an a ccurate direct measurement of regurgitant flow, overcoming the limitations of existing Doppler techniques.