title: Prevalence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: an echocardiographic study.
abstract: The prevalence and hemodynamic consequences of regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA) were evaluated in 84 advanced-stage Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients who underwent echocardiographic and systolic time interval (STI) examination. A satisfactory echocardiogram was obtained in 72 patients who were divided into two groups: group I (33 patients) had normal wall motion or minor changes, and group II (39 patients) had akinetic and/or dyskinetic areas. In group II, 15 patients had ventricular dilation; 8 of the 15 had a history of cardiac failure and 4 died during the study. Wall motion index (WMI), end-diastolic volume (EDV), and STI values increased significantly from group I to group II. In the whole group, a strong correlation was found between WMI and STI ratios. This study demonstrates a high prevalence of RWMA and supports the viewpoint that RWMA, consequences of the myopathic process, result in progressive left ventricular dilation, heart failure, and cardiac death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Myopathy, Meaux General Hospital, France.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: de Kermadec
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Bécane
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chénard
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tertrain
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004452:Echocardiography; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009136:Muscular Dystrophies / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013599:Systole / Q000502:physiology; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*