Validation of Conventional and Simplified Methods to Calculate Projected Valve Area at Normal Flow Rate in Patients With Low Flow, Low Gradient Aortic Stenosis: The Multicenter TOPAS (True or Pseudo Severe Aortic Stenosis) Study
It has been previously demonstrated that a new index of aortic stenosis (AS) severity derived from dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE), the projected aortic valve area (AVA) at a normal transvalvular flow rate (AVAproj), is superior to traditional Doppler echocardiographic indices to discriminate true severe from pseudosevere low-gradient AS. The objectives of this study were to prospectively validate the diagnostic and prognostic value of AVAproj in a large series of patients and to propose a new clinically applicable simplified method to estimate AVAproj.
