[Roentgenologic data patterns and hemodynamics in biopsy-proven dilated myocardial diseases]

The chest plain images of 63 patients suffering from histologically proved dilated myocardial diseases: primary cardiomyopathy (27), active and residual myocarditis (23), toxic cardiomyopathy (3), endomyocardial fibrosis (2), thesaurismotic cardiomyopathy (2), obstructive intramural fine vessel diseases (6) were analysed and correlated with invasively determined parameters: end-diastolic volume index, wall mass index, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, pulmonary artery mean pressure, ejection fraction. The x-ray findings proved to occur in four different patterns which were defined as left heart involvement and three different patterns of bilateral left and right heart involvement representing various stages of left heart failure. This kind of image evaluation with functional classification is characterized by increased sensitivity, accuracy and information in detail in comparison with the heart lung index or other usual procedures.