Cardiologia (Rome, Italy)
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Cardiologia (Rome, Italy) · Jan 1993
Comparative Study[Transesophageal Doppler study of pulmonary venous flow: the role of atrial contraction].
Pulmonary venous flow (PVF) pattern can be easily recorded by using transesophageal Doppler echocardiography. Recent reports suggest that the analysis of PVF pattern could be useful to better understand the role of atrial contraction on left ventricular filling. In order to evaluate the effect of loss of atrial contraction, we studied 50 consecutive patients with atrial fibrillation. ⋯ On the contrary, the diastolic flow was increased comparing to normal subjects. In atrial fibrillation the flow shifted from systolic to diastolic filling. The restore of sinus rhythm induced a normalization of PVF pattern.