Normal values for Doppler echocardiographic assessment of heart valve prostheses.

Assessment of normal and abnormal function of heart valve prostheses remains challenging. Doppler echocardiography has been shown to allow hemodynamic evaluation in various clinical settings and has become the most widely used tool to assess prosthetic valve function. Prosthetic valves, even when they function normally, are to some degree obstructive to the blood flow. The normal values of gradients, pressure half-time, and effective orifice area depend on valve type and valve size. Doppler assessment of prosthetic valve function, thus, requires specification of valve type and valve size, and knowledge of the normal values. This study provides an updated overview on the available data of normal values to facilitate adequate interpretation of Doppler data.