Suprasternal Ultrasonography

Abstract

Ultrasound has been used to measure the diameters of the aortic arch, right pulmonary artery, and left atrium. This new method is described in detail. The transducer is placed in the suprasternal region and the ultrasonic beam is directed caudad. Cadaver and clinical experiments have confirmed the reliability of the ultrasonic results. Suprasternal ultrasonic readings were obtained on 100 patients, including 52 normals, 18 with hypertensive cardiovascular disease, 24 with rheumatic heart disease, and 6 with congenital heart disease. Excellent correlation between the ultrasonic and angiographic lumen measurements in both healthy and diseased subjects was shown.