Regional and temporal nonuniformity of shape and wall movement in the normal left ventricle

Asymmetry of left ventricular (LV) shape and asynchrony of regional LV movement have been described in the normal human heart, but never correlated to each other. In 16 normal subjects, right anterior oblique ventriculography was used to obtain volumes, regional wall motion (centerline method) and curvature (windowed Fourier series approximation of contours) over the entire cardiac cycle. The apex had the greatest curvature, while the posterior wall had a negative end-diastolic curvature that decreased further at early-systole and became positive at end-systole. The anterior region had the greatest and the anteroapical region the least fractional shortening. Asynchrony was evident as a delayed contraction of the infero- and anteroapical regions, and as a greater rate of late-systolic shortening of the anterior wall than that of the apex. Shape changes and shortening were dyssynchronous in the apical regions where the greatest changes occurred at early diastole. Temporal and regional nonuniformity of shape and movement exists in normal subjects. Dyssynchrony between shape and regional contraction of the apical regions deserves further studies.