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The severity of the regional wall motion and its effects on the global left ventricular diastolic filling were analyzed with use of radionuclide techniques in 19 patients with isolated disease of the left anterior descending coronary artery with previous myocardial infarction. Regional maximum inward movements in the noninfarcted lateral region occurred at a time close to the global end-systole, but occurred far beyond the global end-systole in the infarcted septal and apical regions, resulting in the occurrence of the regional asynchronous wall motion between the infarcted and noninfarcted regions after the global end-systole. A positive correlation between this end-systolic asynchronous wall motion and the asynchronous filling in early diastole was found (r = 0.69, p less than 0.001). A negative correlation between the asynchronous filling in early diastole and the global peak filling rate was also found (r = -0.58, p less than 0.01). Thus, the end-systolic regional asynchronous wall motion causes the subsequent regional asynchronous filling in early diastole, which may cause impairment of the global left ventricular filling in patients with single-vessel coronary artery disease with previous myocardial infarction.

To assess left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function globally and regionally and to study the relationship between regional asynchrony and global LV function in patients with stable effort angina pectoris (AP) without previous myocardial infarction, we conducted a resting gated radionuclide ventriculographic study in 15 control subjects (N group) and 22 AP patients with isolated disease of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). In nine of these 22 AP patients, LV systolic and diastolic function before surgical revascularization (Aorto-Coronary Bypass) were compared with those after surgical revascularization. A computer program subdivided the image of the LV into four regions (septal, basal, lateral and apical) by our previously reported method. The time-activity and first-derivative curves of the global LV and three regions (septal, lateral, apical; the basal region was not computed) LV were computed. In the global LV, the peak filling rate (PFR) normalized to LV end-diastolic volume (EDV) and the ratio of increment of filling volume at 100 msec from global end-systole (ES) to the EDV (%EFV), which was correlated with the time constant of LV pressure decay during isovolumic relaxation, decreased (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.001, respectively) and time to PFR (time interval from global ES to PFR) was greater (p less than 0.001) in the AP group than that in the N group. However, in the AP group, the ejection fraction (EF), normalized peak ejection rate (PFR) and %1/3SV, which was defined as the percent stroke volume ejected during the first third of the global LV ejection phase, were not different from these in the N group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Contributions of late diastolic filling (slow filling and atrial systolic phases) to total filling volume in both global and regional left ventricle were analyzed using radionuclide techniques in 21 patients with isolated left anterior descending coronary artery disease without previous myocardial infarction. A computer program subdivided the image of the left ventricle into four regions at a geometric center of the area. The time-activity and its first-derivative curves of the global and regional left ventricles were computed. In the global left ventricle, the percent contributions of late diastolic filling to total filling volume were significantly increased in patients with one-vessel disease than in control subjects (20 +/- 5%, 28 +/- 4%; p less than 0.001). In the regional left ventricle, in patients with one-vessel disease, the percent contributions of late diastolic filling to total filling volume were significantly increased in the septal (25 +/- 5%, 34 +/- 8%; p less than 0.001) and in the apical regions (21 +/- 4%, 28 +/- 4%; p less than 0.001) which were perfused by stenosed vessel. In contrast, there were no significant differences in this value between the two groups in the normally perfused lateral region (22 +/- 6%, 25 +/- 5%; p = NS). These results indicate that the late diastolic filing makes a larger contribution to the left ventricular filling in the affected regions than in the normally perfused regions, and that the increased late diastolic filling in the affected regions are the cause for the increased late diastolic filling in the global left ventricle in patients with one-vessel disease.