Abstract
The correlation between echocardiographically and angiographically calculated ejection fraction and systolic excursion of the mitral annulus was studied in 81 patients. Knowing that the mitral annulus changes its size, shape, and position during the cardiac cycle, the authors measured systolic excursion of the annulus by 2D echocardiography. Displacement of the mitral annulus was measured from four different points (medial, lateral, anterior, posterior) by apical four-chamber and apical two-chamber approaches. Patients with and without regional wall motion abnormalities were included. Left ventric ular volumes and ejection fraction (EF) were calculated in the standard manner intro duced by Teichholz et al and also with biplane left ventriculography.
As a result, EF calculated by cineangiography, was moderately correlated with the Teichholz method (r=0.66) while it was highly correlated with measurements of mitral annular motion (MAM) (r=0.87). The correlation can be expressed by the regression equation, EF (angiography) =5.7 MAM (in mm) - 6.5. They conclude that measurements of annular motion is an easy and reliable index of left ventricular function as an alter native to traditional methods.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.