Retrograde catheterization of left heart cavities in dogs by means of an orientable directional Doppler catheter-tip flowmeter: a preliminary report

Abstract

A new directional Doppler velocimeter catheter is described bearing a single crystal and mounted on an orientable catheter controller. Retrograde arterial catheterization was performed in six anaesthetized and artificially ventilated dogs through the femoral artery and blood flow velocities were recorded at different sites in the aorta, the left ventricular outflow tract, the left ventricular inflow tract, the left atrium near the mitral annulus, and posteriorly near the venous orifices, and finally in the pulmonary veins. The different recorded patterns are analysed. It is suggested that this procedure might provide a new approach to the study of left heart haemodynamics.