ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC LEFT-VENTRICULAR WALL MOTION IN NORMAL MAN

Although the motion of the left ventricular wall was examined by angiographic and by echocardiograhic studies in experimental animals and in man, the motion of the left ventricular posterior wall throughout the entire cardiac cycle was not completely studied. Because the posterior wall can be demonstrated in essentially all patients, echocardiography has wide clinical application in the evaluation of left ventricular function. The motion of the left ventricular posterior wall was not completely studied. In 64 human volunteers the echocardiographic movements of the left ventricular posterior wall were identified. Using the R wave of the ECG as a reference and to identify phases of the cardiac cycle, each movement of the left ventricular posterior wall was temporally related to aortic and/or mitral valvular movements. In 14 subjects, dual M-mode echocardiograms confirmed the validity of these temporal relationships. In 3 subjects, high-fidelity recordings from catheter tip micromanometers were made simultaneously with the echocardiogram to describe temporal relationships between pressure and motion. A base of normal data for comparison with the motion of the left ventricular posterior wall in a variety of diseases and in response to therapy is provided.