title: Correlation between praecordial accelerocardiogram and left ventricular pressure.
abstract: The praecordial accelerocardiogram possesses important practical advantages over more familiar techniques of recording praecordial pulsations. We have compared the amplitude of the P wave of the praecordial accelerocardiogram in 6 normal subjects (group 1) and 21 patients with heart disease (group 2) at rest and after 3 minutes of isometric handgrip at 30 per cent maximum voluntary contraction. At rest in group 2 there was a significant linear correlation between the amplitude of the P wave of the accelerocardiogram, relative to the maximum systolic amplitude (P/DE), and the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (P less than 0-01). However, comparison of the data for P/DE showed that the mean value (+/-SEM) of 29+/-5 per cent in group 1 was not significantly different from the mean value of 37+/-4 per cent in group 2 (P g .reater than 0-30). During handgrip the mean amplitude of the P wave did not increase significantly in group 1 (P greater than 0-20) but increased significantly in group 2 (P less than 0-02). In group 2 there was a significant linear correlation between the percentage increase in the amplitude of the P wave of the accelerocardiogram during handgrip and the percentage increase in the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (P less than 0-01).
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007702:Kinetocardiography; D008875:Middle Aged; D005082:Physical Exertion; D016276:Ventricular Function