Diagnosis of functional tricuspid insufficiency by pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound.

Twenty-four healthy subjects and 33 patients with left-sided valvular heart disease in atrial fibrillation were studied using a pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound system connected to a 900 two-dimension- al echocardiography device. Systolic turbulence in the right atrium (RAST) was studied, and the ratio of maximum systolic velocity to maximum diastolic velocity ratio (MSV:MDV) was determined in the superior vena cava. In the 33 patients with valvular disease, right ventricular angiography was performed, classify- ing tricuspid insufficiency (TI) in 31 cases as absent, mild or moderate-to-severe. In two cases, right ventricular angiography was inconclusive.