The evaluation of left ventricular function by echocardiography.

Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular size and function correlates well with that made by cineangiography. The technic is particularly suited to the early detection and serial monitoring of left ventricular hypertrophy and dysfunction in valvular heart disease, hypertensive heart disease and the cardiomyopathies. It also has advantages over angiography in experimental situations in which frequently repeated or continuous assessment of left ventricular size and function may be required. The limited usefulness of a single ultrasound beam in segmental heart disease, such as ischemic heart disease, may be overcome in the future with improvements in two-dimensional echocardiographic technics.