A New Method for Evaluation of Severity of Mitral Regurgitation:Direct Assessment of Proximal Jet Area by Real-time 3D-Echocardiography

摘要

Measurement of proximal jet width (PJW) using 2D colour Doppler echocardiography (CD) is an important semi-quantitative parameter for the evaluation of severity of mitral regurgitation (MR). PJW is measured at the vena contracta, the narrowest portion of the jet that occurs at or just downstream from the orifice and represents a measurement of the effective regurgitant orifice area (EROA) which is independent of flow rate.In current practice, PJW is measured monoplane in apical four-chamber view (4CH). However, uncertainty exists in cases of functional MR where PJW at the same time appears narrow in 4CH and broad in two-chamber view (2CH). Therefore, current guidelines propose that the proximal jet size should ideally be measured by real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE) since it allows direct measurement of the proximal jet area (PJA = EROA).