title: Three-dimensional echocardiography for quantitative analysis of left-ventricular aneurysm.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Quantitative analysis of left-ventricular (LV) aneurysms after myocardial infarction is prognostically relevant and assists in planning surgery. Three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography facilitates clear visualization of cardiac anatomy and accurate assessment of functional parameters. The aim of the present study was to determine the ability of 3D echocardiography to quantify LV aneurysms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten patients with a known LV-aneurysm after myocardial infarction underwent 3D echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging at 1.5 Tesla within 3 days. For 3D echocardiography, a multiplanar transesophageal examination was performed with full LV coverage and the 3D dataset was analyzed offline. The LV-aneurysm was defined by a wall thickness <5 mm. The following quantitative parameters were determined: left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes, LV myocardial mass (LV-mass) and mass of the LV-aneurysm. LV ejection fraction and percentage of aneurysm mass (%-aneurysm) were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  LV volumes and ejection fraction showed a strong correlation between 3D echocardiography and CMR (r = 0.94-0.97; P < 0.01). Importantly, the mass and percentage of mass of the LV-aneurysm demonstrated a high correlation as well (r = 0.94 and r = 0.86, respectively; P < 0.01). For all parameters, the calculated bias between both methods was found to be minimal (0.8-7.6%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Three-dimensional echocardiography proved to be a reliable tool for quantitative analysis of LV volumes, ejection fraction and aneurysm size in patients with prior myocardial infarction. In addition, 3D visualization of the complex cardiac anatomy in patients with LV-aneurysm may assist surgical procedure planning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine III, Cardiology and Angiology, University of Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. jahnke@dhzb.de
authors.forename: Cosima
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jahnke
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Foell
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heinrichs
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bley
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Handke
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bode
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Geibel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000783:Aneurysm / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D019560:Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*