Contribution of pulsed Doppler echocardiography to ultrasound diagnosis of congenital heart diseases

The authors document the importance of echocardiograhy (ECHO) with special respect to the pulsed Doppler technique (PDE) in the diagnosis of congenital heart diseases. Typical ECHO and PDE findings in atrial and ventricular septal defects, patent ductus arteriosus, valvular stenosis and insufficiency, absence of pulmonary valves, tricuspid and pulmonary atresia, Fallot's tetralogy, arterial trunk, double-outlet right ventricle, transposition of the great arteries, total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage and hypoplastic left-heart syndrome are described. The authors conclude that a combination of M-mode, cross-sectional and pulsed Doppler echocardiography permits a comparatively detailed non-invasive diagnosis of the entire spectrum of congenital heart diseases.