[An evaluation of left ventricular myocardial function by x-ray and electrocardiographic data in patients with postinfarct cardiosclerosis].

To determine the diagnostic significance of x-ray criteria for assessing heart function in patients with postinfarction cardiosclerosis, the coronary-ventricular and electrocardiographic findings were compared with x-ray data in patients of 2 age groups. Group I was made up of patients aged 22 to 39 years, group II of patients aged 60 to 69 years. An attempt was made to base the use of the x-ray method during follow-up of patients suffering from coronary disease. With lesions of the coronary arteries being the same, the functional alterations in the left ventricle were more pronounced in younger patients than in elderly ones. The presence of a sufficiently close correlation between the end systolic volume and the relative heart volume makes it possible to employ this x-ray indicator as a noninvasive criterion for assessing left ventricular function during follow-up of patients with coronary disease.