Left Ventricular Ejection Time in Valvular Aortic Stenosis

Abstract

Hemodynamic data obtained at cardiac catheterization from 40 patients with valvular aortic stenosis demonstrated that, although left ventricular ejection time was prolonged, the usual linear inverse relationship between heart rate and ejection time was preserved at a longer than normal mean ejection time. In contrast to this, the direct linear relationship between ejection time and stroke volume which exists in normal human subjects was totally obliterated in patients with aortic stenosis so that ejection time appeared to be totally unrelated to stroke volume. However, the degree of prolongation of left ventricular ejection time above that predicted from stroke volume (ΔLVET) was closely correlated with aortic valve area (AVA), so that aortic valve area could be predicted as AVA = 0.91 – 3.6 ΔLVET within 95% confidence limits of ± 0.16 cm². Alternatively, if ejection time was not abnormally prolonged, it was possible to predict with 95% confidence that the aortic valve area was greater than 0.75 cm² in cross-sectional area and thus not within the range generally requiring surgical therapy.