Standardization in the measurement of left ventricular wall mass. M-mode echocardiography.

A wide variety of approaches to M-mode echocardiographic methods for estimation of left ventricular mass have been proposed and employed in hypertensive heart disease. The cube function geometry, which assumes an ellipsoid of revolution with a length twice the minor axis, appears to be optimal provided left ventricular shape is relatively normal. The Penn measurement technique for wall thickness and diameter is best validated, but American Society of Echocardiography measurements can be used with appropriate regression correction. Changes in instrumentation may warrant reexamination of measurement techniques as well as the relative value of M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiographic techniques for estimation of left ventricular mass.