Quantification of aortic valve area: comparison of different methods of echocardiography with 3-D scan of the excised valve.

Accurate determination of severity of aortic valve stenosis (AS) by aortic valve area (AVA) is essential for choosing the best treatment strategy. We compared AVA quantified by 4 different in vivo echocardiographic methods with AVA measured by 3D ex vivo scanning of the excised AV. The data on 38 patients who underwent aortic valve replacement were assessed.