Cardiac hypertrophy in the developing heart.
To gain information on physiologic postnatal cardiac growth in humans and to characterize the left ventricle (LV) when subjected to various types of overload during that period, angiocardiographic volume parameters in infants, children, and adolescents were analyzed. In normal subjects, the relationships between end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), and stroke volume (SV) of the LV and right ventricle (RV), as well as the muscle volume (MV) of the LV and body surface area (BSA) were best fit by power functions with exponents of between 1.2 and 1.3. The EDV and ESV of the LV were smaller than those of the RV. Ejection Fraction (EF), muscle volume index (MVI = MV/EDV), and cardiac index (CI) were constant. In pressure loaded LVs, the MVI was elevated, and increased with increasing pressure load. The ESV tended to be smaller and EF tended to be higher than normal. There was no correlation between EF and EDV. In volume loaded LVs, MV was increased; the MVI, as well as the EF, was normal. The EDV and ESV were elevated without correlation between EF and EDV. In complete transposition of the great arteries. MVI diminished, increasing within months as a response to pressure underloading and overloading. In all groups, there was a negative correlation between EF and ESV, as well as between EF and the shape parameter elongation in systole. During postnatal growth, the normal heart grows overproportionally with respect to BSA, with the LV ejecting the same SV as the RV at a higher EDV and ESV. EF, MVI, and CI are age-independent parameters for assessment of cardiac function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Lange
P E
PE
Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Bioengineering, University of Kiel, F.R.G.
Onnasch
D G
DG
Heintzen
P H
PH
D000328:Adult; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006321:Heart / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D012015:Reference Standards