title: Quantitative Tissue Doppler Echocardiography: Physiological Nonuniformity of Left Ventricular Transmural Myocardial Wall-Motion Velocities and Gradients.
abstract: Tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) is a new method by which transmural myocardial function can be studied noninvasively. In order to investigate physiology and reproducibility, 24 young, healthy volunteers were examined by M-mode TDE. Nonuniformity of transmural tissue layer velocities became apparent: Subendocardial and subepicardial velocities of the anteroseptal myocardial wall (AW) were 3.5 +/- 0.7 and 1.3 +/- 0.5 cm/sec (P < 0.0001, t-test), whereas in the posterolateral wall (PW) values of 3.6 +/- 0.6 and 1.2 +/- 0.4 cm/sec (P < 0.0001, t-test), respectively, were revealed. The ratios, termed "myocardial velocity gradients" as a new indicator of left ventricular performance, were 3.1 +/- 1.0 and 3.4 +/- 1.1, respectively. AW and PW did not differ (N.S.). Tolerance borders did not overlap, and intraobserver variability did not reach intersubject variability (P < 0.0001, F-ratio test). TDE provides new and more sophisticated insights into left ventricular performance. It seems to be accurate and reliable and therefore worth introducing into the clinical arena.
authors.affiliation: Medical Clinic, Johannes Gutenberg University, Langenbeckstrasse 1, D-55131 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Nixdorff
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohr-Kahaly
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kremer
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rippin
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meyer