[Echocardiographic aspects of developmental changes in ventricular function during acute myocardial infarct]

The development of ventricular function in the course of the first three weeks after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was studied in the light of repeated examinations of 76 patients. Segmental derangement of mobility keeps increasing over the first postinfarction days in many patients, while the second and third week show a trend towards improvement. The derangements of segmental kinetics can be evaluated quantitatively by means of a computer or semi-quantitatively by subjective assessment. The former approach is suitable particularly in research work, the latter is fully satisfactory for routine practice. Concavity of the left ventricular wall was detected in 34.8% of the patients and in 56.5% of these the concavity appeared already on the first post AMI day. The organism responds in several ways to derangements of segmental mobility. First the sympathoadrenal activity is increased, which is echocardiographically reflected by hyperkinesia of the unaffected areas of the left ventricle. Further on segmental pliability decreases and the left ventricle becomes dilated by heterometric regulation. Reduced right ventricular function was recorded in 48.4% of patients with infarction of the lower wall and in 11.4% of patients with infarction of the anterior wall.