Reproducibility of Doppler measures of ventricular function during maximal upright cycling

Cardiol Young. 2010 Dec;20(6):676-9. doi: 10.1017/S1047951110000983. Epub 2010 Aug 23.

Abstract

Echocardiographic measures of ventricular function during exercise may prove useful in assessing myocardial health. This study examined test-retest reproducibility of measurements of Doppler mitral flow velocity (E-wave) and myocardial tissue Doppler imaging (E'-, S-waves) during a progressive maximal upright cycle test in 12 healthy lean adolescent males. Measurements were taken as subjects pedalled to exhaustion with 35 watt work increments in two separate trials. We observed no significant differences in mean values at rest, submaximal (70 watts) exercise, or maximal exercise for all three variables. Coefficients of variation at maximal exercise were 5.3%, 7.4%, and 8.1% for mitral E, tissue Doppler-S, and tissue Doppler-E', respectively. These findings indicated acceptable levels of reproducibility of Doppler ultrasound techniques for assessing ventricular systolic and diastolic functional response to maximal exercise in young lean male subjects.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Blood Flow Velocity
  • Echocardiography, Doppler*
  • Exercise Test*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mitral Valve / diagnostic imaging
  • Observer Variation
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Ventricular Function*