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(Circulation. 2000;102:1053.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.

Basic Science Reports

The Power-Velocity Integral at the Vena Contracta

A New Method for Direct Quantification of Regurgitant Volume Flow

Thomas Buck, MD; Ronald A. Mucci, PhD; J. Luis Guerrero, BS; Godtfred Holmvang, MD; Mark D. Handschumacher, BS; Robert A. Levine, MD

From the Cardiac Ultrasound Laboratory (T.B., R.A.M., M.D.H., R.A.L.), Cardiovascular Surgical Unit (J.L.G.), and Cardiac MRI Unit (G.H.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

Correspondence to Robert A. Levine, MD, Cardiac Ultrasound Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, VBK 508, Boston, MA 02114. E-mail rlevine{at}partners.org

Background—Noninvasive 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 proportional to flow rate. Early studies, however, suggested that this held only for laminar flow, not for regurgitant jets, in which turbulence and fluid entrainment augment scatter. We therefore hypothesized that this Doppler power principle can be applied at the proximal vena contracta, where flow is laminar before entrainment, so that the power-times-velocity integral should vary linearly with flow rate and its time integral with stroke volume (SV).

Methods and Results—This was tested in vitro with steady and pulsatile flow through 0.07- to 0.8-cm² 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 compared with MRI mitral inflow minus aortic outflow and in 11 patients with 3D echo left ventricular ejection volume–Doppler aortic forward SV. Vena contracta power in the narrow high-velocity spectrum from a broad measuring beam was calibrated against that from a narrow reference beam of known area. Calculated and actual flow rates and SV correlated well in vitro (r=0.99, 0.99; 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 accurate direct measurement of regurgitant flow, overcoming the limitations of existing Doppler techniques.

Key Words: echocardiography • regurgitation • mitral valve • blood flow

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