[IMPORTANCE OF THE VECTORCARDIOGRAM IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF INFARCT OF THE DIAPHRAGMATIC REGION OF THE VENTRICULAR MYOCARDIUM, PRESENTING INITIAL POSITIVITY OF THE QRS COMPLEX IN THE D3 LEAD].

Left ventricular mass, derived from echocardiographic measurement of left ventricular wall volume, was compared with simple vectorcardiographic and electrocardiographic voltage measurements in 36 patients with left ventricular enlargement and 7 normal subjects.Left ventricular wall volume was obtained by subtracting the volume of the ventricular cavity, calculated as the cube of the ultrasound internal dimension, from the volume occupied by ventricular wall and cavity, calculated as the cube of the internal dimension plus twice the wall thickness.This method differs from those used hitherto and appears preferable on theoretical grounds.The mass measurements correlated closely with the vectorcardiographic horizontal, and summed hori- zontal and sagittal, maximum QRS vectors (r= go9) and less closely with Sokalow's electrocardiographic criterion (r=0o73).Both the voltage and echocardiographic measurements are useful techniques for assessing left ventricular mass, particularly for serial observations.Where echocardiography is not practicable or available, simple vectorcardiographic measurements offer an alternative means of estimating left ventricular mass.Measurement of left ventricular mass can be useful in the diagnosis and assessment of disorders which may involve this chamber of the heart.The best in vivo measurements are provided by angiocardiographic techniques, but their use is restricted to a small proportion of patients, and opportunities for serial measurements rarely arise.Echocardiographic measurement of left ven- tricular mass has been shown to correlate closely with its measurement by angiocardiography (Troy, Pombo, and Rackley, I972; Murray, Johnston, and Reid, I972) and has the advantage of being non- invasive and easily repeatable.However, the tech- nique can be difficult, or even impossible, to per- form on some patients and requires some small measure of skill.Of the noninvasive techniques for the detection and assessment of left ventricular enlargement, the most generally available is conventional scalar electrocardiography.Spatial vectorcardiography, using a corrected orthogonal lead system, is claimed by some to be a superior method (Bristow, Porter, and Griswold, I96I; Mazzoleni, Wolff, and Wolff, I962; Abbott-Smith and Chou, 1970); however,

Vectorcardiography

10.1136/hrt.36.10.981

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Detecting Ventricular Hypertrophy and Atrial Abnormality Through the Electrocardiogram

AACN Advanced Critical Care (2014)

Patricia Gonce Morton

Abnormality

10.1097/nci.0000000000000056

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Citations (2)