[Study of mechanical work of the heart in patients with toxic goiter by means of electrokymography].

A study was made of the electrokymogram (EKG) of the left and the right ventricle of the heart in 54 patients suffering from toxic goiter chiefly with a marked clinical picture of the disease. Electrokymography permitted to detect enlargement of the ventricles. Excited pulsation of the ventricles with a rapid rise in systole and a sharp fall in diastole pointed to myocardial hyperfunction. Rapid and energetic contractions of the heart led to intensification of the oscillatory movements of the heart in the chest cavity, and to its rotation. A low-wave pulsation with small frequent waves of low amplitude pointed to a reduction of the contractile function of the myocardium; this was also indicated by the increase of the latent EKG time and the paradoxical movements at the beginning of systole. After the effective treatment the EKG of the ventricles showed almost no difference from the curves of healthy individuals. Changes in the character of the ventricular pulsation in toxic goiter were observed already at the early phase of the disease when some of the patients still displayed no changes in the ECG, and no X-ray data pointing to the affection of the heart were as yet evident. In the presence of phenomena of cardiac insufficiency the EKG objectively proved the presence of changes in the myocardium. The EKG data corresponded to the severity of the clinical picture of the disease. Electrokymography serves as a valuable method for analysis of the function of myocardium of the ventricles in toxic goiter.