Volume Measurements in Aortic Root Assessment Using Two-Dimensional Echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: Aortic dilatation is associated with the presence of aortic diseases. Current guidelines for assessing the aortic root (AoR) depend on linear measurements acquired by two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography. We considered that real-time three-dimensional echocardiography, which correlates better with AoR volume obtained by computed tomography, is widely unavailable, and therefore, there is a need to determine the AoR volume using 2D echocardiography.

METHODS: Fifty-one consecutive apparently healthy volunteers were recruited and subsequently divided into three age groups. Specified planes of acquisition and previously defined landmarks were identified, and phases of the cardiac cycle that allowed for measurement standardization were used. Volume was determined by the modified Simpson's method.

RESULTS: Although the average diastolic and systolic volume measurements of the AoR dimensions were not significantly different across the three age groups in the study population, a highly significant difference was observed in the volume measurements between male and female normotensive persons, P < 0.01 in each case. AoR volume measurements were five times in the diseased compared with the normotensive individuals; however, linear measurements were only 1.5 times in size of the normal individuals. Both point and interval estimates of the volume measurements of AoR in adult normotensives in three age groups were presented as baseline information.

CONCLUSIONS: We hereby present a novel way to determine the AoR volume using 2D echocardiography and the normal reference range with respect to age and gender. We also established the relevance of our measurement by comparing the normal population with two isolated diseased aortas.