Measurement of aortic and mitral regurgitation by gated cardiac blood pool scans.

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Abstract
A simple noninvasive radionuclide technique which measures the severity of valvular regurgitation was developed. The technique compares right and left ventricular stroke volume indices (change in counts between diastole and systole over the left and right ventricles) from 45.degree. LAO [left anterior oblique] gated cardiac blood pool scans. In 14 control subjects the left-to-right ventricular stroke index ratio was near unity (1.15 .+-. 0.15 [SD]). In 26 patients with mitral and/or aortic regurgitation it was larger (range 1.36-5.30, mean 2.44). Comparison between the stroke index ratio and qualitative angiographic estimates of regurgitation revealed good agreement (F [regurgitative flow] = 45.5, P < 0.001). Gated cardiac blood pool scans permit noninvasive assessment of the severity of valvular regurgitation.