Echocardiographic aortic to mitral valve opening area ratio for determining the presence and severity of mitral regurgitation

A simple and accurate noninvasive method to quantify the degree of mitral regurgitation (MR) is lacking. Therefore, the ratio of the aortic (AVO) to mitral valve opening area (MVO) from 2-dimensionally guided M-mode echocardiographic tracings was examined as an estimate for the presence and severity of MR. Seventy-two patients who had undergone catheterization were studied: 49 with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, 7 with coronary artery disease and 16 with organic MR. Twenty-eight patients had no MR (group I), 23 had mild/moderate MR (group II) and 21 had severe MR (group III). The AVO/MVO ratio was 0.86 +/- 0.2 in group I, 0.53 +/- 0.1 in group II and 0.31 +/- 0.1 in group III (p less than 0.001). An AVO/MVO ratio of 0.65 or less predicted MR with a sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 86%. Furthermore, a strong relation was found between the ratio and the angiographic severity of MR. Thus, the AVO/MVO ratio is a simple echocardiographic parameter for detecting the presence and severity of MR.