Mitral annulus velocity measured by Pulsed Wave Doppler Tissue Imaging has been used as method of evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function. However, there are few reports of mitral annulus velocity measured by doppler tissue imaging in healthy normal people. the puopose of this study is to know normal values of mitral annulus velocity in healthy korean people.

Subjectives were 100 healthy normal korean (men : 58 and women : 42 average : 51±7, range : 41-67) without hyper-tension and heart disease. subjectives were divided three groups according to age, group I which are forties (n=42), group II which are fifties (n=46), and group III which are sixties (n = 14). For measuring the mitral annulus velocities by DTI, we used the 2.5 MHz probe (Sequoia, Accuson) in apical 4 chamber view with the sample volume at the septal portion of the mitral annulus.

Mitral annular velocity in diastole is easily recorded by DTI in all subjectives. mitral annulus E'velocities were significantly decrease with aging (group I * 7.5±l.3 cm/sec, group II 5.7±1.3 cm/sec, group III 5.1±1.3 cm/sec. *p <0.001 in group I vs group lI and group I vs group III ) and also E'/A' ratios were significantly decrease with aging (group I * 1.0±0.2, group #II 0.8±0.2, group III 0.6±0.2. *p<0.001 in group I vs group ll and group I vs group III). mitral annulus A' velocities were increase with aging but has no statistical significance (group I 7.8±1.0 cm/sec, group II 7.9±1.2 cm/sec, group III 8.3±0.8 cm/sec. p=NS). mitral annulus E'velocities were correlated with age (r=-0.686, p <0.01).

This results shows that mitral annulus E'velocities and E'/A' ratios were significantly decrease with aging and mitral annulus A' velocities were increase with aging, also there are good correlation between mitral annulus E' velocities and aging.