A study on vectorcardiographic criteria for evaluating right ventricular hypertrophy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Vectorcardiographic analysis was mainly made on the basis of hemodynamic findings through right heart catheterization in COPD. From the results obtained in the present study, the authors proposed the following quantitative VCG criteria as a mean for clinical recognition of right ventricular overload in patients with COPD. (I) Individual parameters of the criteria are: i) The QRS loop; (a) P/A (posterior force/anterior force) greater than or equal to 2.8 (b) R/L (rightward force/leftward force) greater than or equal to 0.6 (c) P/6 (posterior force/leftward force) greater than or equal to 1.8 ii) The P loop; Ap/Pp (anterior force/posterior force) greater than or equal to 1.8 (II) Criteria i) "RVH (right ventricular hypertrophy)" should satisfy more than 3 of the above individual parameters. ii) "RVH suspected" should satisfy 1 or 2 of them. iii) "RVH negative" should not satisfy any of them. The recognition rate for RVH by the present VCG criteria was higher than the conventional ECG criteria and there was good correspondence with autopsy findings.