Assessment of aortic valve area combining echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is routinely used to calculate aortic valve area (AVA) by continuity equation (CE). However, accurate measurement of the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) can be difficult and flow acceleration in the LVOT may lead to miscalculation of the AVA.

Objective: The aim of our study was to compare AVA measurements by standard TTE, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a hybrid approach combining both techniques.