Contrast echocardiography for evaluation of left ventricular flow dynamics using densitometric analysis.

BACKGROUNDFew data exist regarding intraventricular flow patterns in the presence of left ventricular dysfunction. Therefore, we examined the relation between intracavitary left ventricular flow dynamics and the presence of ventricular contractile abnormalities using videodensitometric analysis of transpulmonary contrast echocardiography.METHODS AND RESULTSTwo-dimensional echocardiography was performed before, during, and after intravenous injection of sonicated albumin in 8 normal subjects, 22 patients with infarction, and 6 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Time-intensity curves were recorded, and disappearance half-times (in cardiac cycles) were measured for regions of interest at the mitral orifice (Ta) and mid-left ventricular cavity (Tb). We observed contrast enhancement of the left ventricular cavity in 28 of 36 patients. Ta and Tb were identical (19 beats) in all normal patients, but Tb was greater than Ta (19 versus 22 beats, P < .001) in patients with dyssynergy. Patients with dyssynergy wer...