Noninvasive diagnosis of ventricular septal defects using echo-pulsed Doppler velocimetry, localization, evaluation of the shunt and the associated lesions]

A preliminary study of 15 patients with ventricular septal defect demonstrates that Echo-Doppler velocimetry allows the non-invasive diagnosis of this malformation in 80% of the cases, as well as its localisation and detection of associated lesions; tin addition evaluation of the shunt is made feasible by non invasive recording of the flow velocity curves of the shunt and of the pulmonary artery according to a technique derived from the basic one. This method turns out to be essential for establishing the aetiological diagnosis of left parasternal systolic murmurs.