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The paper reviews a 10-year experience with complex ultrasonic diagnosis of membraneous subvalvular aortic stenosis, a rare congenital defect. Fifteen subjects operated on for this abnormality were examined. Profound systolic closure of the aortic cusps, concentrated left ventricular myocardial hypertrophy, linear-shaped echo signals generated by the membrane in the subaortic area, turbulent systolic blood flow in the ascending aorta are the most significant signs for the diagnosis of the membraneous subvalvular aortic stenosis.

Echocardiographic findings in 8 patients operated on for Valsalva's sinus aneurysm rupture are summed up: aneurysm and the site of its rupture shown on two-dimensional echocardiogram, abnormal diastolic blood flow through the aneurysm, evidenced by Doppler cardiography, and dilatation of cardiac chambers, dependent on the direction of blood discharge through the aorto-cardiac fistula.

Echocardiographic signs of subvalvular fusions are discussed, as they frequently complicate the course of mitral stenosis. The diagnostic value of two-dimensional echo-cardiography is established for this abnormality. Subvalvular fusions of the chordal apparatus are shown to be associated with certain signs on the two-dimensional echocardiogram, such as additional echoes under mitral valve cusps in short-axis heart section (sensitivity 67.2%, specificity 90.7%), and mitral orifice drawn towards the interventricular septum (sensitivity 35.7%, specificity 93.5%), thickened subvalvular structures in the long-axis section of the heart's left compartments (sensitivity 40.7%, specificity 82.9%), and fissural or "coma-like" shape of the mitral orifice.

Echocardiographic findings were analysed in 25 patients after surgical application of biological mitral valve prosthesis BAKS-M and 10 patients with paravalvular fistulas developing after similar operations employing different types of prosthesis. A tendency to increased postoperative size of the heart, left-atrial systolic turbulent flow, normalized ventricular septal movement and high-frequency oscillations of the aortic valve cusps are characteristic echocardiographic signs of paravalvular fistula.