Determination of left ventricular mass in clinical practice

Left ventricular (LV) mass is affected by cardiovascular diseases and disorders. An increase in LV mass during a disease process may suggest disease progression, while a decrease in mass may suggest disease regression. Thus, LV mass can be used to follow the natural history of a disease or disorder and to evaluate the effect of therapeutic interventions. Although several methods have been used to determine LV mass in clinical practice, their application requires knowledge of their limitations and advantages. Most such techniques are insufficiently sensitive or specific to define LV mass changes in individual patients. Consequently, it may be more beneficial to evaluate therapy-related changes in LV mass in large patient groups.