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Standardization of M-mode echocardiographic left ventricular anatomic measurements
Insights
Standardizing echocardiographic measurements is key. Left ventricular mass, when indexed by lean body mass, shows no sex difference, improving anatomical measurement standardization.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Human Physiology
Background:
- Echocardiographic measurements of left ventricular (LV) anatomy require standardization.
- Existing methods may not adequately account for variations in body size and sex.
Purpose of the Study:
- To improve standardization of echocardiographic left ventricular anatomic measurements.
- To relate LV dimensions and mass to body size indexes, sex, age, and blood pressure.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of echocardiographic data from two independent normal populations (hospital-based and general population).
- Measurements correlated with body surface area, lean body mass, sex, age, and blood pressure.
- Lean body mass estimated via 24-hour urine creatine excretion.
Main Results:
- LV dimensions and mass differed significantly between sexes.
- Body surface area (BSA) indexation reduced but did not eliminate sex differences in LV mass.
- LV mass indexed by lean body mass showed no significant sex difference.
- Weak correlations found between LV mass/lean body mass and blood pressure, but not age.
Conclusions:
- Lean body mass is a superior index for standardizing echocardiographic left ventricular mass compared to body surface area.
- This approach enhances the standardization of echocardiographic left ventricular anatomic measurements.
- Further research may explore the relationship with cardiovascular health indicators.
Abstract:
To improve standardization of echocardiographic left ventricular anatomic measurements, echographic left ventricular dimensions and mass were related to body size indexes, sex, age and blood pressure. Independent normal populations comprised 92 hospital-based subjects (64 women, 28 men) and 133 subjects from a population sample (55 women, 78 men). All measurements of chamber size, wall thickness and mass differed between men and women in both series (p less than 0.01 to p less than 0.001). Left ventricular mass was related most closely to body surface area among measurements of body size (r = 0.37, p less than 0.01 to r = 0.57, p less than 0.001) in all four groups. Indexation by body surface area eliminated sex differences in wall thicknesses and internal dimension, but a significant sex difference in left ventricular mass index persisted (89 +/- 21 g/m2 in men versus 69 + 19 g/m2 in women in the entire series, p less than 0.0001). The 97th percentile of left ventricular mass index was identical in both groups of men (136 and 132 g/m2) and women (112 and 109 g/m2). A highly significant difference in lean body mass, estimated from 24 hour urine creatine excretion, was observed between men and women (58 +/- 15 versus 40 +/- 13 kg, p less than 0.001) and no sex difference existed in left ventricular mass indexed by lean body mass (3.4 +/- 1.3 versus 3.5 +/- 1.5 g/kg). Weak correlations were observed between left ventricular mass/lean body mass and systolic or diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.25, p less than 0.05 and r = 0.28, p less than 0.01, respectively) but not age (18 to 72 years).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)