[Demonstration of left-ventricular contraction anomalies with the two-dimensional sector-scanner (author's transl)]

Echocardiographic findings were compared with those obtained by cardiac catheterisation in 134 patients. Echocardiography was performed in the standard plane of the long and short axes, as well as from the cardiac apex. After dividing the left ventricle into several segments wall movement was measured in them and compared with those obtained by ventricular angiography in the right and left anterior oblique positions. It was found that in patients with left-ventricular aneurysm, proven by left ventricular angio, there was complete conformity with regard to localisation and extent of the aneurysm between the two methods of investigation. In this group 79% of the demonstrated segments could be adequately assessed and, in 91%, agreed with the radiological findings. In the group of patients without aneurysm only 68% of the segments could be adequately assessed, and 77% correctly assessed wall movement when compared with the laevocardiogram. Tracing recorded from the cardiac apex gave especially good results in demonstrating the ventricle and its segments.