title: Value of vectorcardiography in predicting progress in dilated cardiomyopathy.
abstract: Sixteen of 75 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) died during a mean follow-up period of 39.7 months. In non-survivors, the cardiothoracic ratio and the left ventricular end-diastolic dimensions were greater, the left ventricular end-diastolic pressures were more elevated, and the cardiac index was lower than in the survivors at the time of initial diagnosis. There were no significant differences between survivors and non-survivors in the magnitude of the maximum QRS and T vectors or in the maximum T angle. In the non-survivors, the maximum QRS vector was directed more posteriorly and the width/length ratio of the loop in the horizontal plane was smaller than in survivors. The QRS loop in the horizontal plane was often distorted in non-survivors or showed a bizarre figure-of-eight configuration. It appears that in DCM a marked posterior displacement of a QRS loop that is narrow and distorted or is in a bizarre figure-of-eight configuration in the horizontal plane indicates an unfavorable prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Gunma University School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tomono
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Utsugi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katoh
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohshima
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurihara
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murata
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013318:Stroke Volume; D014672:Vectorcardiography