Elevated Prosthetic Valve Gradients: What to Consider When Determining an Etiology.DOPPLER echocardiography is a useful noninvasive tool for the assessment of cardiac hemodynamics.  One such etiology is the pressure-recovery (PR) phenomenon, a consequence of stream convergence and energy conversion across a narrowing, which is an artifact of Doppler echocardiographic calculations of valvular flow.  The elevated gradient measured with Doppler echocardiography as a result of PR is not present on cardiac catheterization and does not represent true problematic valve hemodynamics.  PR should be suspected with an elevated gradient on Doppler echocardiography with normal leaflet motion, especially in the setting of a small proximal aorta. 
DOPPLER
Elevated Prosthetic Valve Gradients: What to Consider When Determining an Etiology.DOPPLER echocardiography is a useful noninvasive tool for the assessment of cardiac hemodynamics.  The elevated gradient measured with Doppler echocardiography as a result of PR is not present on cardiac catheterization and does not represent true problematic valve hemodynamics.  PR should be suspected with an elevated gradient on Doppler echocardiography with normal leaflet motion, especially in the setting of a small proximal aorta. 
Doppler echocardiography
The elevated gradient measured with Doppler echocardiography as a result of PR is not present on cardiac catheterization and does not represent true problematic valve hemodynamics. 
cardiac catheterization