Blood flow velocity profiles in the aortic annulus: a 3-dimensional freehand color flow Doppler imaging study.

Background: The use of a single sample volume in Doppler measurements of the velocity time integral (VTI) in the aortic annulus may introduce errors in calculations of stroke volumes, shunts, regurgitant fractions, and aortic valve area. To study the blood flow velocity distribution and assess this potential error, we used a dynamic 3-dimensional color flow Doppler imaging method.

Methods And Results: Seventeen healthy volunteers were studied.