Value of repeated cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in patients with suspected arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

AIM: Diagnosis of early stages of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) with minimal structural abnormalities is challenging. The purpose of this study was to assess the value of repeated cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in patients referred for right ventricular arrhythmias and clinical suspicion of ARVC. METHODS AND RESULTS: Prospective follow-up study of 18 patients (8 females) studied with CMR for suspected ARVC. Patients with implanted defibrillators (ICD) were excluded. Mean follow-up was 37 +/- 16 (12-59) months. Patients were assigned to 2 categories (ARVC likely or ARVC unlikely) according to a CMR-score based on right ventricular abnormalities. Clinical follow-up revealed no disease progression in 17 patients (94%). In 1 patient, an ICD was implanted because of disease progression. Of 9 patients with initial findings suggestive of ARVC, follow-up CMR remained positive in 3 and was diagnosed as normal in 6, mainly due to the inability to confirm the presence of fatty infiltrates at follow-up (5 of 6 patients). Initially, 9 patients had a normal CMR and 8 of those remained normal during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Repeated CMR after an average follow-up of 3 years was normal in 6 of 9 patients with clinical findings consistent with early stages of ARVC at the time of baseline CMR. Thus, CMR diagnosis of early stage ARVC is difficult and should be made with caution.     

Late hyperenhancement in gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging: comparison of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients with and without nonsustained ventricular tachycardia

Aim To assess the extent of hyperenhancement in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) in comparison to patients without NSVT. Design In HCM patients, NSVT in Holter monitoring is a risk factor for sudden cardiac death; however, its positive predictive value is low. Varying risk of sudden death related to NSVT may be dependent on the heterogeneous extent of the arrhythmogenic substrate, which seems to be visible as hyperenhancement in gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods Hyperenhancement was assessed in 47 HCM patients (30 males and 17 females, mean age 42 ± 12 years): 32 patients had NSVT, 15 patients had no NSVT. The extent of hyperenhancement was calculated by software and expressed as a mass. Results In HCM patients with NSVT 97% had some extent of hyperenhancement on MRI, ranging from 1 to 76 g. The mean mass of hyperenhanced myocardium was 19 ± 18 g (8.1 ± 7.6% of total left ventricular mass). In HCM patients without NSVT, a significantly lower percentage of patients (60%) had hyperenhancement (P < 0.05). However, the amount of hyperenhanced myocardium was not significantly different (13 ± 19 g, 6.3 ± 9.1% of total left ventricular mass; P < 0.05). Conclusions Hyperenhancement was visible in almost all HCM patients with NSVT (97%) and in a significantly lower percentage of patients without NSVT (60%). Whether this finding explains the increased risk of sudden death in case of NSVT is not clear, since the extent of hyperenhancement was not significantly different between the two groups.     

Comparison of late enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance and thallium SPECT in patients with coronary disease and left ventricular dysfunction.

PURPOSE: Late enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was compared with thallium-201 rest-redistribution single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in patients with reduced left ventricular (LV) function and prior myocardial infarction (MI). BACKGROUND: Hyperenhancement on contrast cardiac MRI using gadolinium diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) has been reported to identify nonviable myocardium. Comparisons of MRI and thallium-201 SPECT have recently been reported. This study focuses on the comparison of these modalities specifically in patients with ischemic heart failure, where viability determination is most clinically relevant. METHODS: Fifteen patients with LV dysfunction and prior MI [mean ejection fraction (EF) 35 +/- 11%] underwent thallium-201 rest-redistribution scintigraphy and contrast MRI on separate days. Each short axis slice was divided into six 60-degree segments, and correlations between MRI and scintigraphy were made on viability detection for each segment. For SPECT, the mean uptake score was calculated from the average of all percent relative activity values throughout each segment. Areas with < 50% of maximal thallium uptake were considered nonviable. On MRI, regions with increased signal intensity after an injection of 0.1 mmol/kg Gd-DPTA were considered nonviable. RESULTS: A total of 558 segments were analyzed. Overall, there was a strong inverse relationship between the area of hyperenhancement on MRI and diminished thallium-201 uptake on SPECT (r = -0.51, P < 0.001). There was a significant correlation between the imaging methods for each individual segment, except for the inferior-septal segment (r = -0.38, P < 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with LV dysfunction and prior MI, our data suggest MRI hyperenhancement significantly correlates with myocardial nonviability by thallium-201 SPECT. Correlations were weaker in the inferior-septal region, which may be due to SPECT attenuation artifact.     

组织多普勒成像评价左心室舒张功能障碍患者的左心室长轴收缩功能

目的 探讨左心室舒张功能障碍患者的左心室长轴收缩功能变化特征。方法 选取健康志愿者30例（Ⅰ组），左心室舒张功能障碍患者60例分为松弛性减低组（Ⅱ组）32例和假性正常化充盈组（Ⅲ组）28例，应用组织多普勒成像（TDI）模式，分别取心尖四腔心和二腔心切面，将取样容积先后置于二尖瓣环后间隔、侧壁、前壁和下壁处，记录4个位点二尖瓣环运动频谱，测量或计算舒张早期峰值速度（EM）、心房收缩期峰值速度（AM）、EM／AM比值、收缩期峰值速度（SM）、收缩期位移（DS，即收缩波时间速度积分）及收缩前期时间（PCTM，即心电图QRS波起始与收缩波起始之间期），并对3组数据进行比较分析。结果SM和DS在Ⅱ、Ⅲ组明显小于Ⅰ组（P〈0．01或P〈0．05），在各组间呈逐渐减小趋势，即Ⅰ组〉Ⅱ组〉Ⅲ组；而各组间PCTM差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。左心室长轴收缩功能减低发生率在Ⅱ、Ⅲ组分别是35．3％和67．2％（P〈0．01）。结论 左心室舒张功能障碍患者存在一定程度长轴收缩功能障碍，且其受损程度随着舒张功能障碍进展而加重，因而采用TDI评估左心室长轴收缩功能对全面评价患者心脏功能具有重要价值。     

Semiautomatic detection of left ventricular contours in contrast-enhanced echocardiographic images: Comparison with magnetic resonance imaging.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a semiautomatic contour detection method for left ventricular (LV) volume calculation in contrast-enhanced echocardiographic images. In 26 patients, LV volumes were automatically measured by magnetic resonance imaging and second harmonic echocardiography after intravenous Levovist administration. LV cavity edges were manually drawn and semiautomatically outlined using the active contour algorithm, improved by a nonlinear anisotropic filter; LV volumes were calculated by the modified Simpson's rule. Manual and semiautomatic analysis of echocardiographic images lasted 45 +/- 6 and 20 +/- 8 seconds, respectively. Contrast echocardiography volumes were smaller than those by magnetic resonance imaging (mean difference: 16 mL for manual and 18 mL for automatic analysis). LV volumes by echocardiography closely related with those by magnetic resonance imaging using both manual (r = 0.955) and semiautomatic (r = 0.945) analysis; the correlation was closer for end-systolic than for end-diastolic volumes. In conclusion, this method provides a fast measure of LV volumes in contrast-enhanced images while reducing operator dependency.     

磁共振成像在成人眼眶黄色肉芽肿病的诊断价值

目的  分析成人眼眶黄色肉芽肿病的磁共振表现,提高对该病的认识。方法  回顾性分析11例患者的MR图像,分析MR图像病变部位、双侧/单侧、形态、边缘、眶内结构、T1WI、T2WI信号特点、DWI特点、ADC及强化方式。结果  11例眼眶黄色肉芽肿经手术病理证实,分别是成人起病的黄色肉芽肿（n=6）、渐进性坏死性黄色肉芽肿（n=4）和Erdheim-Chester病（n=1）。成人起病的黄色肉芽肿6例,3例累及单侧眼睑,1例累及右侧鼻泪管,1例累及双侧眼睑和泪腺,1例累及右侧眼睑、翼腭窝和左侧颞肌;渐进性坏死性黄色肉芽肿4例,2例累及左侧眼睑,2例累及双侧眼睑、鼻部、额颞部;Erdheim-chester病1例,双侧眶内多发病变并累及垂体、心包、肾脏。4例边界清晰,7例范围弥漫,边界不清。10例T1WI低、T2WI及压脂高信号,1例T1WI低、T2WI及压脂低信号。弥散加权成像低信号（n=7）;平均表观扩散系数值为1.18×10^-3 mm²/s（n=7）。6例行动态增强检查,时间-信号曲线（TIC）均表现为持续上升型（Ⅰ型）。结论  眼眶黄色肉芽肿病多有眼睑肿胀,无破溃,累及眼睑及皮下组织、眶前部、眶后部和泪腺,可累及眼外肌肌腱,未见累及视神经,累及眶内病变未见骨壁破坏。MRI可以通过显示化学位移伪影来辅助此病的诊断。     

A global benchmark of algorithms for segmenting the left atrium from late gadolinium-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging

Segmentation of medical images, particularly late gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-MRI) used for visualizing diseased atrial structures, is a crucial first step for ablation treatment of atrial fibrillation. However, direct segmentation of LGE-MRIs is challenging due to the varying intensities caused by contrast agents. Since most clinical studies have relied on manual, labor-intensive approaches, automatic methods are of high interest, particularly optimized machine learning approaches. To address this, we organized the 2018 Left Atrium Segmentation Challenge using 154 3D LGE-MRIs, currently the world's largest atrial LGE-MRI dataset, and associated labels of the left atrium segmented by three medical experts, ultimately attracting the participation of 27 international teams. In this paper, extensive analysis of the submitted algorithms using technical and biological metrics was performed by undergoing subgroup analysis and conducting hyper-parameter analysis, offering an overall picture of the major design choices of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and practical considerations for achieving state-of-the-art left atrium segmentation. Results show that the top method achieved a Dice score of 93.2% and a mean surface to surface distance of 0.7 mm, significantly outperforming prior state-of-the-art. Particularly, our analysis demonstrated that double sequentially used CNNs, in which a first CNN is used for automatic region-of-interest localization and a subsequent CNN is used for refined regional segmentation, achieved superior results than traditional methods and machine learning approaches containing single CNNs. This large-scale benchmarking study makes a significant step towards much-improved segmentation methods for atrial LGE-MRIs, and will serve as an important benchmark for evaluating and comparing the future works in the field. Furthermore, the findings from this study can potentially be extended to other imaging datasets and modalities, having an impact on the wider medical imaging community.     

Measurement of left ventricular volumes by 3-dimensional echocardiography with tissue harmonic imaging: a comparison with magnetic resonance imaging.

We hypothesized that tissue harmonic imaging (THI) in comparison with fundamental imaging (FI) would improve endocardial border detection, and therefore in combination with 3-dimensional echocardiography (3D echo), it would be a precise method for left ventricular (LV) volume measurement. Ten healthy subjects and 18 consecutive patients with dilated hearts underwent estimation of LV volumes by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and transthoracic 3D echo with THI and FI. In patients, the agreement between MRI and 3D echo was closer with THI in comparison with FI for assessment of LV volumes. Thus the mean +/- 2 SD of differences between MRI and 3D echo with THI versus FI, respectively, was -6.4 +/- 40.0 mL versus -17.4 +/- 57.6 mL (P <.01) for the end-diastolic volume (EDV), and 0.0 +/- 26.6 mL versus -8.1 +/- 35.6 mL (P <.01) for the end-systolic volume (ESV). In patients, THI in comparison with FI approximately halved observer variation on EDV and ESV. In healthy subjects, only ESV showed significantly reduced observer variation by THI. In conclusion, because THI demonstrated a clinically relevant reduction in observer variation and a closer agreement to the MRI technique in patients with dilated hearts, it should replace FI in LV volume measurements.     

Transesophageal 3-dimensional echocardiography: in vivo determination of left ventricular mass in comparison with magnetic resonance imaging.

The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy and reproducibility of transesophageal 3-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) in comparison with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the in vivo calculation of left ventricular mass (LVM). In addition, mass values obtained by M-mode echocardiography were compared with those calculated by MRI. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the left ventricle was performed from a transesophageal and transgastric transducer position with a multiplane transducer in 20 patients. Left ventricular mass was calculated from both transducer positions by using slices of various thicknesses, ranging from 5 to 20 mm. Reproducibility was determined by 5 repeated measurements of mass in each of 5 randomly selected left ventricles. M-mode echocardiography was performed according to the method described by Devereux. For MRI, multiple short-axis views with 10-mm slice thickness were acquired in inspiration hold. Correlation was high for mass determined by 3DE and MRI (for 10-mm slice thickness: r = 0.99; y = 0.99 x - 0.7 g; standard error of estimate = 8.5 g; P <.001). There was no statistical bias, and the limits of agreement ranged from +/-16.4 g to +/-27.2 g, depending on the slice thickness. Variability was lowest for a slice thickness of 10 mm (SD +/- 8.2 g). The reproducibility of mass determination was excellent (mean width of the 95% CI 12.8 g). Left ventricular mass values calculated from the transgastric and transesophageal transducer position were not different from each other (mean bias 0.6 +/- 9.1 g; P = ns). M-mode-based LVM calculations showed systematic overestimation and large measurement variability (bias 23.7 g; 95% CI +/- 92.8 g). Compared with MRI, transesophageal 3DE is an accurate and reproducible method for the determination of LVM and clearly superior to M-mode echocardiography.     

磁共振心脏成像与超声心动图评价左室收缩功能

目的评价磁共振心脏成像(CMRI)与超声心动图对左室收缩功能的诊断价值.方法对75例临床怀疑心脏疾病的患者进行心脏MRI与超声心动图检查,测量左室射血分数(LVEF),其中27例结果与左室造影相对照.结果 75例心脏MRI所测EF值(%)＝42.31±19.70,超声心动图所测EF值(%)＝48.79±17.10;27例行左室造影病例中,心脏MRI所测EF值(%)＝35.64±13.36,超声心动图所测EF值(%)＝39.95±12.72,左室造影所测EF值(%)＝36.65±14.27.对同一病例,心脏MRI所测EF值较超声心动图偏低(-6.48±12.34,t＝-4.544, P<0.001).27例患者心脏MRI与超声心动图结果均与左室造影结果无统计学差异:心脏MRI( r＝0.839,P＜0.001),超声心动图( r＝0.761,P＜0.001).结论对左室收缩功能的评价,心脏MRI与超声心动图均具重要的临床应用价值( r＝0.784,P＜0.001),心脏MRI一般比超声心动图所测LVEF数值偏小,差值≤10%.     

Iodine 123-metaiodobenzylguanidine imaging reflect generalized sympathetic activation in patients with left ventricular dysfunction

BACKGROUND: Iodine 123-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) imaging has been used to assess cardiac sympathetic nerve abnormalities. To determine the role of MIBG imaging as a measure of generalized sympathetic nerve activity, MIBG imaging was evaluated with muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and plasma norepinephrine (noradrenaline) level in patients with old myocardial infarction. METHODS: Myocardial MIBG scintigraphy, MSNA and plasma norepinephrine measurement were performed within 3 days in 35 patients with old myocardial infarction. Patients were divided into three groups according to their ejection fraction (EF); preserved (EF > or = 50%, 12 patients), intermediate (35% < EF < 50%, 13 patients), or depressed (EF < or = 35%, 10 patients).The heart to mediastinum (H/M) ratio was obtained 4 h after tracer injection from the chest anterior view image. MIBG washout rate was calculated from the early and delayed images. MSNA was recorded by microneurography. RESULTS: Plasma norepinephrine level had weak negative correlations with early H/M ratio (r = 0.37, P<0.05) and delayed H/M ratio (r = 0.33, P<0.05), and a positive correlation with MIBG washout rate (r = 0.54, P<0.01). MSNA had weak negative correlations with early H/M ratio (r = 0.51, P<0.05) and delayed H/M ratio (r = 0.52, P<0.05). However, a strong correlation was found between MSNA and MIBG washout rate (r = 0.88, P<0.001). Despite no significant differences in plasma norepinephrine level and H/M ratio, patients with intermediate and depressed EF had higher MIBG washout rate and MSNA compared with those with preserved EF. CONCLUSIONS: Increased in cardiac sympathetic nerve activity was associated with augmented sympathetic outflow of the skeletal muscle and hence, MIBG washout rate allow the assessment of general sympathetic nerve activity.     

Effect of indecainide in patients with left ventricular dysfunction

Indecainide, a new antiarrhythmic agent classified as type Ic was evaluated in 11 patients with heart disease who had greater than or equal to 30 ventricular premature complexes/hour, moderate-to-marked left ventricular dysfunction, and mean ejection fraction 34% +/- 8%. Patients received indecainide, 50 mg by mouth, every 6 hours and the dose was increased until greater than or equal to 80% suppression was noted, adverse effects occurred, or a maximum dose of 100 mg indecainide was given every 6 hours. Ventricular premature complexes were suppressed greater than or equal to 80% in nine patients (p less than 0.05) and ventricular tachycardia episodes were completely suppressed in five of eight patients. The effective or maximal mean daily indecainide dose was 191 +/- 32 mg; half of the responders achieved achieved efficacy at serum drug concentration greater than or equal to 600 ng/ml. Serum drug concentration was directly related to gender (r = 0.78, p less than 0.04) and inversely related to creatinine clearance (r = 0.74, p less than 0.05) and ejection fraction (r = 0.71, p less than 0.02). Indecainide prolonged mean PR and QRS intervals (p less than 0.05) but not QT or QTc. There was a linear relation between percent change in PR (r = 0.80, p less than 0.001) and QRS (r = 0.66, p less than 0.001) intervals and serum drug concentration. After starting or increasing the dose, careful observation of patients with decreased renal function or reduced ejection fraction should be exercised because they attain higher drug concentration than normal subjects.     

Apical tissue tracking echocardiography for characterization of regional left ventricular function: comparison with magnetic resonance imaging in patients after myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to characterize the normal pattern of apical tracking and to investigate whether tissue tracking imaging is more useful for evaluation of regional left-ventricular function than noncontrast harmonic echocardiography in patients after myocardial infarction. BACKGROUND: Left ventricular longitudinal shortening plays an important role in cardiac contraction, and can be evaluated online by a new Doppler tissue imaging method. METHODS: We included 40 healthy participants and 40 patients after myocardial infarction. They underwent tissue tracking imaging and noncontrast harmonic imaging by an experienced and an inexperienced observer. Diagnostic accuracy of semiquantitative evaluation of left ventricular function was compared using magnetic resonance imaging as reference method. RESULTS: Velocity-time integrals decreased from basal to apical segments in healthy participants. Tissue tracking imaging has a higher diagnostic sensitivity than noncontrast imaging for the diagnosis of regional wall-motion abnormalities (expert, 78% vs 97%, P <.01; beginner, 63% vs 91%, P <.001), whereas specificity remained unchanged (expert, 99% vs 97%, not significant; beginner, 91% vs 92%, not significant). CONCLUSIONS: Tissue tracking imaging is feasible and evaluates regional systolic myocardial function quantitatively with high diagnostic accuracy compared with magnetic resonance imaging in patients after myocardial infarction, and is more accurate than noncontrast harmonic echocardiography.     

应用速度矢量成像检测二尖瓣狭窄亚临床左心室功能不全

目的应用速度矢量成像（VVI）检测单纯二尖瓣狭窄亚临床左室功能不全的临床意义。方法VVI分析软件定量测定28例单纯二尖瓣狭窄患者、28例健康志愿者16节段心肌长轴方向的心肌速度、应变与应变率,分析两组之间的差异。结果与对照组相比,患者组收缩期心肌速度、应变和应变率,舒张早期心肌应变和应变率以及舒张晚期心肌应变率均明显低于对照组（P〈0.05或P〈0.01）,舒张晚期心肌应变两组比较差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）,两组间左室射血分数差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）。结论VVI技术能够客观、敏感地反映早期单纯二尖瓣狭窄患者亚临床左室长轴功能不全。     

超声斑点追踪成像评价心功能不全患者收缩期心肌扭转的初步研究

目的 应用超声斑点追踪成像技术评价心功能不全患者收缩期左室心肌旋转及扭转运动变化.方法 32例正常对照者和24例心功能不全患者,显示左室标准短轴观图像,分别测量并比较两组患者各短轴观图像在标化时间点处的左室旋转及扭转角度、收缩期左室旋转及扭转峰值与相应达峰时间,观察左室旋转值及扭转值随时间变化的关系.结果 心功能不全患者左室各短轴观收缩期左室旋转及扭转峰值均显著低于对照组(P<0.05);与对照组比较,心功能不全组左室扭转达峰时间明显延长(P<0.05),达峰点出现在舒张期,左室心尖水平顺时针旋转达峰时间长于对照组(P<0.05),延长至射血期.结论 心功能不全患者左室扭转运动减低,左室心底、心尖相对旋转不同步,旋转角度减低.     

Evaluation of left ventricular dysfunction using multiphasic reconstructions of coronary multi-slice computed tomography data in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease: validation against cine magnetic resonance imaging

Purpose: Multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) is an emerging technique for the angiographic assessment of coronary artery disease (CAD). The purpose of this work was to determine if multiphasic reconstructions of the same data used for the assessment of CAD could also be used for global functional evaluation of the left ventricle (LV). Materials and methods: Fifteen patients with chronic ischemic heart disease (CIHD) were imaged for CAD using a contrast-enhanced retrospective electrocardiographic-gated spiral technique on a MSCT scanner. The same data were reconstructed at both end-diastole and end-systole in order to measure left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), end-systolic volume (LVESV), and ejection fraction (LVEF). The results were compared to values obtained using a cine true-fast imaging with steady-state precession technique on a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Interobserver variability in the measurement from MSCT images was also evaluated. Results: For LVEF, there was substantial agreement between MSCT and MRI (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.825); the intermodality reproducibility for LVEF (5%) was within an acceptable clinical range. However, mean values of LVEDV and LVESV with MSCT compared to cine MRI (LVEDV: 262.0 ± 85.6 ml and 297.2 ± 98.8 ml, LVESV: 196.2 ± 75.6 ml and 218.6 ± 90.99 ml, respectively) were significantly less for both volumes (p < 0.015). Intermodality variabilities for these measurements were high (15 and 13% for LVEDV and LVESV, respectively). Readers' mean measurements of LVESV from MSCT images were significantly different (p = 0.003) resulting in differences in calculation of LVEF (p < 0.024). Still, interobserver variabilities for all values were acceptable (6, 8, and 5% for LVEDV, LVESV, and LVEF, respectively). Conclusion: Although values for LVEDV and LVESV were less with MSCT than with MRI, LVEF values were in agreement. This suggests that combined imaging of CAD and the evaluation of global LV dysfunction due to CIHD is feasible with the same MSCT acquisition.     

Normal human left and right ventricular and left atrial dimensions using steady state free precession magnetic resonance imaging.

PURPOSE: The aim of this project was to establish a database of left and right ventricular and left atrial dimensions in healthy volunteers using steady-state free precession cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, the clinical technique of choice, across a wide age range. METHODS: 108 healthy volunteers (63 male, 45 female) underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging using steady-state free precession sequences. Manual analysis was performed by 2 experienced observers. RESULTS: Left and right ventricular volumes and left ventricular mass were larger in males than females: LV end-diastolic volume 160 +/- 29 mL vs. 135 +/- 26 mL, LV end-systolic volume 50 +/- 16 mL vs. 42 +/- 12 mL; RV end-diastolic volume 190 +/- 33 mL vs. 148 +/- 35 mL, RV end-systolic volume 78 +/- 20 mL vs. 56 +/- 18 mL (p < .05 for all). Normalization of values to body surface area removed the statistical differences for LV volumes, but not for LV mass or RV volumes. With increased age, males showed a significant decrease in volume and mass indices for both ventricles, while female values remained unchanged. Compared to females, males had significantly larger maximal left atrial volumes (103 +/- 30 mL vs. 89 +/- 21 mL, p = .01) and left atrial stroke volumes (58 +/- 23 mL vs. 48 +/- 15 mL, p = .01). There was no difference in left atrial ejection fraction between the sexes. CONCLUSION: We have produced a large database of age-related normal ranges for left and right ventricular function and left atrial function in males and females. This will allow accurate interpretation of clinical and research datasets.