The contents and links on this page were last verified by Dr. Olga Shindler in March 2020.
Echocardiographic determination of mitral valve area by pressure half time was adopted from the cath lab research below:
In patients studied by cardiac catheterization, the time required for the diastolic left atrioventricular pressure difference to fall to half its initial value (half-time) varied with the anatomic severity of the valvular stenosis.
In mild mitral stenosis, the half-time was approximately 100 msec.
In moderate stenosis, it was about 200 msec.
In severe mitral stenosis it was 300 msec or longer.
In nonstenotic mitral valves, it was less than 25 msec.
Although exercise increased the atrioventricular pressure gradient, heart rate, and cardiac output significantly, the half-time was affected only slightly.
Follow this link to the full text article written in 1968.
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The contents and links on this page were last verified by Dr. Olga Shindler in March 2020.