Percentage of shortening of the echocardiographic left ventricular dimension. Its use in determining ejection fraction and stroke volume.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
The percentage of shortening of the echocardiographic left ventricular dimension (% delta D) was prospectively evaluated in 42 patients without detectable asynergy during diagnostic cardiac catheterization and was found to correlate well with angiographic ejection fraction (r = 0.90). Ejection fraction was calculated as the product of % delta D X 1.7 or as % delta (D2), both formulae having similar degrees of accuracy and a better correlation with the angiographic determination than conventional formulae. Ejection fractions (angiographic and echocardiographic) of 51 percent or greater were always associated with a % delta D of 30 percent or more. In five patients the echocardiographically derived ejection fractions were normal (greater than or equal to 51 percent), while the angiographic ejection fractions were reduced; four of these patients had valvular regurgitation. End-diastolic volumes were calculated from end-diastolic echocardiographic dimensions utilizing a linear regression equation derived from correlating the end-diastolic echocardiographic dimension with the end-diastolic volume in 27 patients without valvular regurgitation (end-diastolic echocardiographic dimension ranged from 3.7 to 8.2 cm). The value for stroke volume determined as the product of calculated end-diastolic volume times ejection fraction correlated with the angiographically determined stroke volume (r = 0.88; standard error of estimate, +/- 11 ml) better than the value for stroke volume derived from conventional echocardiographic formulae.
