Clinical assessment of calibrated jugular pulse recording.

Calibrated jugular pulse tracings and cardiac catheterisation were performed on 50 consecutive patients with organic heart disease. Twenty normal adults had calibrated jugular pulse tracings and served as controls. The height of the jugular 'A' and 'V' waves was quantified as a percentage of a known displacement, rendering measurements independent of the amplification used in recording technique.

Ball variance in a Harken mitral prosthesis. Echocardiographic and phonocardiographic features.

A case of ball variance in a caged-ball prosthetic valve is presented, illustrating the echocardiographic and phonocardiographic features. The swollen silicone ball was observed on echocardiographic studies to have diminished motion and to incompletely open within its cage. On phonocardiographic studies, the Q-S1 interval was prolonged, and no opening sound could be recorded.