[Segmental left-ventricular contractility in patients with hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies]

Segmental left-ventricular contractility was assessed on the basis of computerized analysis of two-dimensional echocardiograms in 35 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCMP), 24 patients with dilatation cardiomyopathy (DCMP), 20 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and 30 normal subjects. The HCMP patients showed hyperkinetic segments at different sites of the left ventricle in the presence of a general rise of myocardial contractility. Segmental contractility disorders of DCMP patients were similar to dyssynergia of CHD patients. No hyperkinetic segments were found in DCMP and CHD patients showing signs of heart failure. The detected segmental contractility disorders cannot be used as a criterion in the differential diagnosis of DCMP versus CHD.