Velocity of left ventricular wall motion determined by fluoroscopic videodensitometry. A noninvasive method for evaluating myocardial contractile state.

Videodensitometry of the margins of the fluoroscopic image of the left ventricle (LV) was used to evaluate LV wall motion and differentiation of the wall motion signal reflected velocity of LV contraction (dV/dt) during various inotropic interventions in six anesthetized dogs. During these interventions heart rate, afterload and preload were maintained constant. Alterations in dV/dt were similar to changes in simultaneously measured LV peak dP/dt and the quotient of dP/dt and developed LV pressure, two widely accepted parameters of LV contractile state. Wide variations in preload and afterload caused no significant changes in dV/dt. Thus, the current study indicates that fluoroscopic videodensitometry provides a specific and reliable noninvasive method for evaluating LV contractile state.     

Evaluation of a miniature CdTe detector for monitoring left ventricular function

A miniature CdTe probe interfaced to a microcomputer was used to measure left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in 25 patients. LVEF obtained with the CdTe module, in the beat-to-beat mode, or the integrated gated mode agreed well with LVEF obtained with a gamma camera (r=0.80; r=0.82 respectively). Similarly, LVEF by CdTe probe agreed with LVEF obtained by gated equilibrium studies performed with a computerized NaI probe. The CdTe probe can provide comparable measurement of LVEF at a fraction of the cost of a cameracomputer system and, being small and lightweight, the CdTe probe is adaptable for monitoring patients in intensive care facilities.This work supported in part by USPHS Grant #GM 10548     

Validation of a digital videodensitometric program analysis for measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction

Left ventricular (LV) function was studied in 30 patients using digital subtraction angiography by the intravenous approach. Each ventriculogram was processed with a specific videodensitometric analysis to determine LV ejection fraction. The program was verified in an experimental set-up consisting of nine latex balloons filled with contrast medium. Its validation has been established by comparing videodensitometric results with classical results supplied by geometric methods. A good correlation was obtained (r = 0.9449) and, furthermore, with experimental models, videodensitometric analysis seemed to be more accurate than geometric analysis. Digital videodensitometry appears to be a valuable and accurate method for quantifying LV function, and a promising technique for determination of the real volumes.     

Aging and the effect of increased after-load on left ventricular contractile state

Hemodynamic and contractile states were studied echocardiographically in 10 young (28 +/- 3 yr) and 10 elderly (67 +/- 4 yr) male subjects at rest and during upright isometric exercise which involved the hands, hips, legs, and lower back muscle groups (deadlift) at 30% of maximum voluntary contraction for 3 min. During deadlift, both groups showed similar and significant increases in blood pressure and heart rate, compared to the resting values. Ejection fraction at rest did not differ significantly between the two groups. During deadlift, it remained unchanged in the elderly white ejection fraction increased significantly in the younger subjects. No significant changes in left ventricular end-diastolic volume occurred in either group during deadlift. End-systolic volume remained unchanged in the elderly while it decreased significantly in the younger subjects. These data indicate that cardiovascular responses and contractile state in normal young men and normal exercise-trained elderly subjects were augmented during upright sub-maximal isometric deadlift exercise, utilizing large muscle mass. However, left ventricular contractility increased less in the elderly subjects compared to the younger subjects.     

Radionuclide monitoring of left ventricular function

Conclusions  Several devices have been evaluated and validated for continuous monitoring of LV function. The diagnostic and prognostic roles of these techniques appear to be predominant in patients with CAD. Silent myocardial ischemia may be widely evaluated by these systems, which allow the clinician to predict ischemic cardiac events, perform risk stratification, and guide treatment in patients with CAD more accurately than can be done with exercise test results. In fact, it has been demonstrated that adverse cardiac events are more commonly observed during routine daily activities. The continuous improvement in miniaturizing these devices and the capability of online processing of data could make this technique useful and widely acceptable, facilitating simultaneous assessment of hemodynamic and metabolic changes in silent LV dysfunction and continuing to play an important role in noninvasive evaluation of ventricular performance.     

Ambulatory monitoring of left ventricular function with a radionuclide detector system]

The recent development of new radionuclide detectors allows noninvasive outpatient monitoring of left ventricular function. This study was aimed at describing a new radionuclide technique useful to monitor cardiac function and at evaluating its potential clinical applications. We studied 14 normal subjects, 30 patients with coronary artery disease and 25 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Left ventricular function was continuously monitored in control conditions at rest, during daily physical activity of different intensity (walking on a level surface and climbing stairs), and during bicycle exercise. Left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) variability during recording in control conditions at rest was 0.2 +/- 1.8%. A significant relationship between outpatient EF at rest and conventional equilibrium radionuclide angiography was observed (r = 0.97, n = 69, p less than 0.001). In normal subjects both daily physical activity and exercise stress test induced an increase in heart rate and EF. In patients with coronary artery disease and in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy a heterogeneous EF response was observed during physical activity and exercise stress test. Our results demonstrate that this technique can be used for the ambulatory monitoring of left ventricular function in both normal subjects and patients with different types of cardiomyopathies.     

A nuclear medicine method for determining left ventricular stroke volume

A new non-invasive nuclear medicine procedure for determining the left ventricular stroke volume is described. The procedure exhibits the following features: 1. Individual calibration of scintigraphic counts in activity by first-pass evaluation; 2. no need for a delta-shaped bolus injection; and 3. determination of different stroke volumes, e.g. during different grades of exercise, by only one injection and by only one blood sample. 36 results obtained at rest and during exercise are compared with corresponding results of the thermodilution method (r = 0.86).     

A rapid method for standardization of the gated radionuclide left ventricular ejection fraction

Radionuclide ventriculography has become the standard method for serially evaluating left ventricular ejection fraction (EF). The "gold standard" for evaluating EF is the contrast ventriculogram, which uses mathematical models to arrive at the volumes used to calculate EF. These models are subject to possible error. This paper reports the standardization of volume measurements of a digital angiographic camera system using a series of cardiac phantoms and the correlation of measurement of the EF of a series of patients whose EF was determined by digital angiography and radionuclide ventriculography.     

Multigated blood-pool tomography: new method for the assessment of left ventricular function

A technique for the semiautomatic calculation of left ventricular volumes from multigated blood-pool tomograms (MGBPT) was tested in a series of 12 patients undergoing contrast ventriculography within 48 hr of gated tomography. The parameters necessary for the calculation of volume were developed in a chest phantom study performed with a series of 99mTc-filled balloons representing the right and left ventricles. The images were analyzed for volume using a percentage of peak count-threshold of the left ventricular balloon. This technique resulted in a correlation of r = 0.99 of the calculated to the true phantom volumes (y = 0.87x + 27.4, p less than 0.01, s.e.e. = 7.87 ml). The patient studies were recorded at 16 frames/cardiac cycle at each of 60 angles over a 360 degree rotation. Reconstructed data were presented in an endless loop cine format producing a set of sequential "beating tomographic slices" in the transverse, apical four-chamber, short-axis, and long-axis oblique views. Measurements of end systolic volume (y = 0.79x + 30, r = 0.93, p less than 0.001, s.e.e. = 24 ml), end-diastolic volume (y = 0.63x + 60, r = 0.94, p less than 0.0001, s.e.e. = 20 ml) and ejection fraction (y = 0.88x - 0.02, r = 0.92, p less than 0.001, s.e.e. = 0.08) determined from the semiautomated volume method correlated well with those determined by left ventricular contrast angiography. A qualitative comparison of MGBPT, planar imaging, and left ventricular angiography in 12 patients revealed that the visual assessment of wall motion using the 16-frame tomographic slices had significant advantages over planar and single plane angiographic data in the identification of inferior, basal, and septal wall motion abnormalities as well as the extent of involvement by aneurysm formation. A quantitative comparison of wall motion in the long-axis oblique view of the MGBPT to the RAO 30 degree ventriculogram (y = 0.74x + 8.7, r = 0.82, p less than 0.0001, s.e.e. = 14%) confirmed the qualitative similarity of these two views. We conclude that MGBPT is promising as a method for accurately measuring left ventricular volumes and assessing regional wall motion.