Detection of diastolic atrioventricular valvular regurgitation by pulsed Doppler echocardiography and its association with complete heart block

The cineangiographic and hemodynamic presence of diastolic mitral regurgitation has been described in patients with complete heart block, aortic valvular regurgitation, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and in patients with long diastolic filling periods in atrial fibrillation. ^1-3 However, because of its relatively low velocity, diastolic mitral regurgitation may be difficult to diagnose noninvasively. Pulsed Doppler echocardiography provides noninvasive evaluation of blood flow through cardiac valves and has been shown to be sensitive in the detection of valvular regurgitation.^4,5 We studied 8 consecutive, nonselected patients with complete heart block over a 6-month period, and all had Doppler evidence of diastolic mitral or tricuspid regurgitation.