Measuring Valve Gradients and Areas

Abstract

Although echocardiographic valve area determinations have taken the primary role in noninvasive assessment, it is important to remember that the standard on which echocardiography is based is the catheter-based hemodynamic data, which include aortic and left ventricular (LV) pressures and the measurement of cardiac output (CO). The original calculations of mitral and aortic valve stenosis have remained vital for >70 years.1