In the 1970s, as cardiac imaging matured from M-mode to two-dimensional echocardiography, investigators in Norway showed that continuous-wave Doppler ultrasonography could be used to accurately measure the mean gradient and pressure half-time for stenotic mitral valves. In the 1980s, continuous-wave Doppler was validated for measurement of the pressure gradient across stenotic aortic valves, and pulsed-wave Doppler combined with two-dimensional echocardiographic imaging was validated for noninvasive measurement of stroke volume and cardiac output. The combination of stroke volume measurement and measurement of the time-velocity integral of flow through the aortic valve was then validated as a means to accurately calculate valve area for patients with stenotic aortic valves or aortic prostheses. This integration of cardiac Doppler ultrasonography with two-dimensional echocardiographic cardiac imaging led to a revolution in noninvasive hemodynamic evaluations, which have replaced invasive hemodynamic evaluations in surgical decision making for most patients with native or prosthetic valvular stenosis.

1970年代，随着心脏成像技术从M型发展到二维超声心动图，挪威的研究人员表明，连续波多普勒超声检查可用于准确测量狭窄二尖瓣的平均梯度和压力半衰期。在1980年代，通过连续波多普勒验证狭窄主动脉瓣的压力梯度，并通过脉冲波多普勒结合二维超声心动图检查对搏动量和心输出量进行无创测量。然后，将搏动量测量与通过主动脉瓣的血流的时间-速度积分的测量相结合，可以作为一种精确计算狭窄主动脉瓣或主动脉假体患者的瓣膜面积的方法。