Correlation of Echocardiographic Fractional Area Change with Radionuclide Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction

Fractional area change of the left ventricle during systole, measured in the parasternal short-axis view, is an easily calculated index of systolic function. We assessed the correlation of echocardio-graphic left ventricular fractional area change with radionuclide ventriculography derived left ventricular ejection fraction. Forty patients who had both echocardiography and radionuclide ventriculography were studied. Nonuniformity of left ventricular function was present in 38%. For the group as a whole the correlation coefficient for fractional area change and ejection fraction was 0.82 (P < 0.001). For patients with uniform systolic function the correlation coefficient was 0.79 (P < 0.001). For those with regional differences, the correlation coefficient was 0.72 (P < 0.005). We conclude that echocardiographically derived fractional area change, measured in the parasternal short-axis view, is an excellent measure of left ventricular function even in patients with heterogeneity of regional function.