HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Besim Yiiter Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Çam, N. Articles by Yiiter, B. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Çam, N. Articles by Yiiter, B.

Dobutamine Stress Test to Evaluate Different Sizes of Prosthetic Aortic Valves

Nese Çam, MD, Hakan Gerçekolu, MD¹, Seden Çelik, MD, Metin Gürsürer, MD, Gülah Tayyareci, MD, Hasan Karabulut, MD¹, Ahmet Narin, MD, Tuna Tezel, MD, Besim Yiiter, MD¹

Department of Cardiology 1 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery Siyami Ersek Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Center stanbul, Turkey

For reprint information contact: Hakan Gerçekolu, MD Department of Cardiovascular Surgery Siyami Ersek Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Center Tünek Sok, Sözen Apt. 23/32 Göztepe, stanbul 81080, Turkey Tel: 90 216 368 8574 Fax: 90 216 363 2879 Email: hgercekoglu{at}hotmail.com

Dobutamine stress testing and Doppler echocardiography were used to assess hemodynamics in 27 patients aged 16 to 54 years with various sizes and types of aortic valve prosthesis. All patients underwent a symptom-limited treadmill exercise test within two days of the dobutamine test. There was no significant difference in ejection fractions and transvalvular gradients at rest and during dobutamine stress between St. Jude Medical, Medtronic-Hall, and Carbomedics valves. Exercise duration did not differ significantly among the different types of valve. When patients were classified by their underlying lesion, those with aortic stenosis and those with aortic insufficiency had similar ejection fractions and transvalvular gradients at rest and during dobutamine stress. The mean and peak transvalvular gradients at rest and during dobutamine stress were significantly different in patients with different valve sizes but the extent of the increase in gradients during stress was not significant. Linear regression analysis revealed that both peak and mean gradients during dobutamine stress could be predicted by the resting gradients. There was a negative correlation between valve size and gradients at rest and during stress, while there was a significant correlation between exercise duration and valve size. Dobutamine stress echocardiography was useful for studying hemodynamics in patients with aortic valve prostheses and the findings show that valvular size was the main determinant of exercise capacity.