Early association of electrocardiogram alteration with infarct size and cardiac function after myocardial infarction.
OBJECTIVE
Myocardial infarction (MI) is the main cause of heart failure, but the relationship between the extent of MI and cardiac function has not been clearly determined. The present study was undertaken to investigate early changes in the electrocardiogram associated with infarct size and cardiac function after MI.


METHODS
MI was induced by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery in rats. Electrocardiograms, echocardiographs and hemodynamic parameters were assessed and myocardial infarct size was measured from mid-transverse sections stained with Masson's trichrome.


RESULTS
The sum of pathological Q wave amplitudes was strongly correlated with myocardial infarct size (r = 0.920, P < 0.0001), left ventricular ejection fraction (r = -0.868, P < 0.0001) and left ventricular end diastolic pressure (r = 0.835, P < 0.0004). Furthermore, there was close relationship between MI size and cardiac function as assessed by left ventricular ejection fraction (r = -0.913, P < 0.0001) and left ventricular end diastolic pressure (r = 0.893, P < 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
The sum of pathological Q wave amplitudes after MI can be used to estimate the extent of MI as well as cardiac function.
Department of Cardiology, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China. taozewei@zju.edu.cn
Ze-wei
ZW
Tao
Yuan-wei
YW
Huang
Qiang
Q
Xia
Jun
J
Fu
Zhi-hong
ZH
Zhao
Xian
X
Lu
I C
IC
Bruce
D000818:Animals; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006439:Hemodynamics; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology