To Örebro University

OBJECTIVES: To compare the systolic, early and late diastolic velocities of the aortic, mitral and tricuspid annuli in healthy subjects and to study the intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility (IIOR) of measuring the velocities at the aortic annulus.

METHODS: Twenty healthy subjects with mean age 28 years were investigated with quantitative two-dimensional color Doppler tissue imaging and the systolic, early and late diastolic velocities were measured at the aortic, mitral and tricuspid annuli.

RESULTS: The mitral annulus had significant higher systolic velocity and early diastolic velocity than the aortic annulus. The late diastolic velocity was significant lower at the aortic annulus compared with the both other annuli. At the different sites of the annuli the highest systolic velocity and early diastolic velocity were measured at the lateral site of the mitral annulus, whereas the lowest systolic velocity was measured at the septal site of the same annulus. The lowest early diastolic velocity was found at the septal site of the aortic annulus. The highest late diastolic velocity was measured at the lateral site of the tricuspid annulus and the lowest at the lateral site of the aortic annulus.

CONCLUSIONS: The mitral annulus has statistical significant higher systolic and early diastolic velocities than the aortic annulus. There are significant differences in velocities between several of the different sites of the annuli. IIOR of measuring the systolic and early diastolic velocities of the aortic annulus is good.