Relation of left ventricular shape to volume and mass in patients with minimally symptomatic chronic aortic...

In 19 male patients with significant but minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic chronic aortic regurgitation, measurements of left ventricular shape, volume, and mass were assessed by cross-sectional echocardiography. End-diastolic volume and mass were significantly larger than normal values. There was a significant negative correlation between the volume-to-mass ratio (V/M) and both the end-diastolic (r = -0.70, p less than 0.01) and end-systolic (r = -0.73, p less than 0.001) long axis-to-minor diameter ratios (L/D), suggesting that maintenance of the normal geometry of the left ventricle is in part dependent on the adequacy of hypertrophy, as expressed by a normal V/M. Since preoperative volume-to-mass indices have been shown to be important predictors of postoperative course, the L/D ratio should be a useful and simple parameter to follow in asymptomatic patients.