Which flow characteristic is considered abnormal for hepatic veins?

Multiphasic flow is a normal characteristic of hepatic veins, as it reflects the various phases of the cardiac cycle and the dynamic nature of blood flow in response to heartbeats. The normal hepatic venous flow pattern typically shows a triphasic waveform, which indicates that the blood flow is returning to the heart during diastole and is influenced by the right atrial pressure and the respiratory cycle.

When looking at abnormal flow characteristics, pulsatile flow would indicate a correlation with right heart problems (such as tricuspid regurgitation), hepatopetal flow is the normal direction of blood flow toward the liver, and slow flow velocity can occur in various pathological conditions but doesn’t specifically point to a characteristic waveform like multiphasic flow does. Therefore, deeming multiphasic flow as the abnormal characteristic emphasizes the importance of recognizing standard waveforms in interpreting sonographic findings related to hepatic venous health.