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Goldberger's triad in dilated cardiomyopathy--can it predict the severity of left ventricular dysfunction?
Insights
Goldberger's triad, an electrocardiographic sign, does not correlate with left ventricular dysfunction severity in dilated cardiomyopathy patients. Further research is needed to validate this finding in larger studies.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Electrocardiography
- Cardiomyopathy
Background:
- Goldberger's triad is a specific but insensitive electrocardiographic marker for dilated cardiomyopathy.
- The relationship between this sign and the severity of left ventricular dysfunction requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the correlation between Goldberger's triad and left ventricular dysfunction in dilated cardiomyopathy.
- To determine if the presence of Goldberger's triad indicates more severe cardiac impairment.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 17 dilated cardiomyopathy patients.
- Examination of electrocardiograms and echocardiographic left ventricular parameters.
- Correlation analysis between Goldberger's triad presence and echocardiographic findings.
Main Results:
- Five patients presented with Goldberger's triad.
- No significant differences were observed in left atrial diameter, left ventricular internal diameters (end-systolic and end-diastolic), or ejection fraction between patients with and without the triad.
- Occult coronary artery disease was detected in 5 of 12 patients via coronary angiography.
Conclusions:
- Goldberger's triad does not appear to correlate with the severity of left ventricular dysfunction in dilated cardiomyopathy.
- The diagnostic utility of Goldberger's triad in assessing disease severity is limited.
- A larger, prospective study is recommended to confirm these preliminary findings.
Abstract:
Goldberger's triad is a specific, but relatively insensitive, electrocardiographic sign for dilated cardiomyopathy. To study the correlation between the presence of this sign and the severity of left ventricular dysfunction, the electrocardiograms and echocardiographically-determined left ventricular parameters of 17 patients (mean age 59.3 +/- 11.8 years) with dilated cardiomyopathy were examined. Five of the patients had Goldberger's triad. We found that the mean left atrial diameter, the mean left ventricular internal diameters (both end-systolic and end-diastolic) and the mean left ventricular ejection fraction of the group of patients with Goldberger's triad did not differ significantly from the group without. Coronary angiography revealed occult coronary artery disease in 5 of 12 patients. A larger, prospective study is required to verify our finding.