[Doppler echocardiography in cor triatriatum: apropos of 2 cases].

In this communication we present a Doppler-echocardiographic investigation on two cases of cor triatriatum. The echocardiographic features and the pulsed Doppler findings, which have not been published previously, are also discussed. When the Doppler sample volume is positioned in the distal camera of the left atrium from apical projections, a positive systolic flow is obtained. This finding has not been described, to our knowledge, in the cor triatriatum nor in any other cardiac abnormality. It is our thought that flow studies in the left atrium in cases of cor triatriatum can be a useful aid to the echocardiographic diagnosis of the anomaly. Doppler studies are also helpful in the differential diagnosis with other intracavitary images, and it is probably also useful in the assessment of the degree of obstruction at the membrane level.