[Radionuclide ejection fraction at rest and in exercise in chronic aortic insufficiency. Pre- and postoperative study...

Twenty patients (17 men and 3 women: average age 50 +/- 14 years) with asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic aortic regurgitation were studied to compare the values of radionuclide left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) at rest and on exercise before (1) and 6 +/- 1 months (2) and 5.7 +/- 1.1 years (3) after surgery. The resting EF was similar at all three examinations: 53 +/- 8 (1); 57 +/- 8 (2); 55 +/- 16 (3). However, it increased significantly on exercise from 40 +/- 10 (1) to 54 +/- 12 (2) (p < 0.001) and to 52 +/- 20 (3) (p = 0.036 versus 1). In the 7 patients with resting EF greater than 55 before surgery, there was no postoperative improvement: 61 +/- 6 (1); 61 +/- 5 (2); 65 +/- 9 (3). However, the exercise EF increased from 44 +/- 13 (1) to 55 +/- 17 (2) and 69 +/- 11 (3) (p = 0.004 vs 1). In 13 patients with resting EF < 55%, the value increased in the early postoperative phase but not later: resting: 49 +/- 5 (1); 55 +/- 8 (2) (p = 0.04); 49 +/- 17 (3) (NS vs 1); effort: 38 +/- 7 (1); 54 +/- 10 (2) (p < 0.001); 40 +/- 16 (3) (NS vs 1). Left ventricular systolic function only returns to normal and exercise after surgery in patients with resting preoperative EF > or = 55%, but nothing indicates that this normalisation is an absolute condition for a successful surgical result in aortic insufficiency in terms of survival and quality of life.