Comparison of Doppler echocardiography, color M-mode Doppler, and Doppler tissue imaging for the estimation of pulmonary capillary wedge pressure.

To overcome the limitations of mitral inflow parameters for predicting pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), combined indices (with Doppler tissue imaging or color M-mode Doppler) have been developed. This study was aimed to compare the accuracy of these indices to predict PCWP. Sixty-one patients were studied. The best correlations with PCWP were found for indices that combined isovolumic relaxation time with flow propagation velocity (color M-mode) or early diastolic velocity of the lateral mitral annulus (Doppler tissue). Both closely tracked changes in PCWP. The color M-mode-derived index was the most accurate in patients with normal systolic function.