Abstract
Since the entire stroke volume traverses each cardiac chamber in normal subjects, a study was undertaken to investigate the relationship of left atrial (LA) to left ventricular (LV) size. Thus, echocardiograms were performed in the standard fashion in 40 school children (ages 5-6 years) without evidence of heart disease. LV diastolic dimension (LVD) was measured at the onset of the QRS complex of the EKG in a sector of the LV containing the mitral valve echoes. LA dimension (LAD) on echo was obtained at the period of maximal anterior excursion of the arotic root in an ultrasound plane containing the aortic leaflets. All measurements were computed for several cardiac cycles. Results were follows: LVD=3.49 cm (0.406), LAD 2.15 cm (0.35) and LVD/LAD=1.635 (0.029). These results show that there is a narrow range in normal values for LVD and LAD and there is a stable ratio between these two chamber diameters. Alterations in the ratio from the normal range on echogram may suggest pathology, even though the individual chamber diameters are within their own normal values.
(Sponsor: Eli Gold)
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George, L., Demaria, A., Riemenschneider, T. et al. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEFT VENTRICULAR AND LEFT ATRIAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC DIAMETERS IN NORMAL CHILDREN. Pediatr Res 11, 391 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00133
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00133
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