Right and left ventricular ejection fractions: relation to one-year prognosis in acute myocardial infarction

Right and left ventricular ejection fractions (RVEF and LVEF) were measured by radionuclide angiography in 423 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). All investigations were performed at hospital discharge. Of 304 patients with first AMI, 26% had normal ejection fractions, 10% had a decrease in RVEF only, 46% a decrease in LVEF only, and 18% decrease in both RVEF and LVEF. Death from cardiac causes occurred in 52 patients in a one-year follow-up period. A reduced RVEF at hospital discharge had little, if any, relation to one-year mortality. In contrast, there was an inverse curvilinear relationship between LVEF and one-year cardiac mortality.