[Non-invasive evaluation of systolic and diastolic functions of the left ventricle in newborn infants].

To assess possible changes in myocardial contractile function and relaxation occurring after mild perinatal asphyxia, maximal blood pressure and M-mode echocardiograms should be registered simultaneously in 32 normal term newborns (group 1) and in 22 term asphyxiated newborns (group II). The slope of end-systolic pressure-dimension relation (ESPDR) was used as a reliable index for evaluation of the myocardial contractility. The slope of ESPDR and some indices of ventricular relaxation decreased in newborns from group II. It is suggested that ESPDR and parameters of left ventricular relaxation and filling can serve as early and sensitive indices of hypoxic myocardial damage.