Segmental early relaxation of the left ventricle

The clinical, electrocardiographic, and angiographic findings of 90 patients, whose RAO 30 degrees left ventriculograms showed segmental early relaxation (SER), were compared with those of 100 patients without SER. There were no significant differences in age and sex distribution or in clinical and coronary angiographic findings between the two groups. There was, however, a significantly lower prevalence of pathologic Q or QS patterns in the anterior leads of the ECG in the group with SER. SER occurred more frequently in segments with well-preserved systolic contraction and was confined to the anterolateral segments in the great majority of the patients (80%). An inverse correlation was found between SER and geographically related critical coronary artery stenosis.