Echocardiographic determination of myocardial mass: a review.
Studies have shown that hypertensive patients with increased left ventricular wall mass are at higher risk for cardiovascular complications than are patients with normal left ventricular wall mass. Echocardiographic determination of myocardial mass is a more sensitive predictor of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) than are electrocardiographic or chest X-ray studies. Two-dimensional echocardiographic methods used to determine left ventricular mass have been shown to be a sensitive indicator of assessing left ventricular muscle mass. Left ventricular mass estimates can be used to determine prognosis and cardiovascular risk and to assess the efficacy of therapy in a number of different heart diseases in which LVH is present.
Sorrentino
M J
MJ
Department of Medicine, University of Chicago Hospitals, Illinois 60637.
D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004452:Echocardiography; D006801:Humans