An echocardiographic study for heart defects reveals: 1. the nature of valve lesions (presence of fibrosis, calcification, vegetations on the valve), 2. to determine the severity of the defect (degree of stenosis and valve insufficiency, the size of defects in congenital defects), 3. to assess the degree of hemodynamic disturbances (cavity size, ejection fraction, pressure gradient at the discharge site for congenital malformations, etc.).
The most informative use of all three modes of echocardiographic research. Two-dimensional echocardiography provides a holistic view of the structural lesions of the heart. The M-mode makes it possible to measure the degree of opening of the valves and describe the characteristic of movements (for example, the diastolic tremor of the mitral valve in aortic insufficiency). Finally, the Doppler echocardiogram makes it possible to estimate the magnitude and direction of blood flow through the valve, determine the pressure gradient before and after the place of narrowing, etc.
It should be noted that the degree of severity of the defect according to ultrasound does not always correspond to its clinical stage (which takes into account the degree of circulatory failure). For example, a patient with aortic valve insufficiency of grade 3 may have stage 11 according to the results of a clinical examination.