Clinical Estimation of Left Ventricular Size : Precordial Electrocardiographic Voltage Corrected by the Measurement of Thorax : Proceedings of the 5th Conference on Prevention for Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease

Abstract

The left ventricular muscle volume (LVMV) was determined echocardiographlcally and the radius of the circle with equal circumference to the thorax (R₁) was calculated from thorax-circumference in 688 children as a part of the Shimane Heart Study. Correlation of the summed precordial voltage (SV₁ + RV₅) with LVMV was not close (r= 0.377 in boys and -0.095 in girls). The. precordial voltage (SV₁ + RV₅) was corrected by the square of R₁ to compensate for the diminution of electrical potential by distance. Correlation between (R₁)² × (SV₁ + RV₅) and LVMV was good in boys (r= 0.681 ) and relatlvely good in girls (r = 0.554). This fact indicates that LVMV can be predicted from ECG and anthropometric measurements of thorax without using echocardiography. Therefore, (R₁)² × (SV₁ + RV₅) seems to have clinical applicability as the index of LV size, if the differences in (R₁)² × (SV₁ + RV₅) and in the correlation coefficient between both sexes are clarified further.