Two-dimensional echocardiography and radionuclide angiocardiography in pulmonary hypertension

In precapillary pulmonary hypertension two-dimensional echocardiography documents anatomo-functional alterations of valvular and cavitary structures of the heart in real time. It supplies useful information on ventricular interdependence and on the motion of the interventricular septum. In the same kind of pathology first pass or equilibrium radionuclide angiocardiography has been used for the calculation of the ejection fraction of the right ventricle, both at rest and during exercise, breathing either air or pure oxygen. The Authors think that these two methods are complementary. For this reason they decided to associate them and they report here their preliminary experience. Their first observations seem to show that the association of the two techniques is useful in the study of the dimensions and shape of the two ventricles and for the visualisation of even regional abnormalities in motion of the interventricular septum.