Impaired left ventricular function in acute myocardial infarction assessed by Doppler measurement of ascending aortic blood velocity and maximum acceleration.

The Doppler-derived ejection variables systolic velocity integral, maximum acceleration and heart rate were recorded in 92 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 73 age-matched normal subjects. Systolic velocity integral was validated as an index of stroke volume against a thermodilution technique in acutely ill patients. Patients with AMI were separated into clinically defined Forrester subsets and into survivors and nonsurvivors of the acute infarction period. Systolic velocity integral correlates significantly with stroke volume determined by thermodilution (r = 0.07) in patients with aortic root areas within the normal range. Patients had a 37% lower maximum acceleration (p less than or equal to 0.001), a 48% lower systolic velocity integral (p less than or equal to 0.001) and a 13% higher heart rate than the age-matched normal subjects (p less than or equal to 0.01). Systolic velocity integral and maximum acceleration both showed a systematic significant decrease through the Forrester subsets (p less than or equal to 0.01, p less than or equal to 0.001, respectively), and were also significantly different between the survivor and nonsurvivor groups (p less than or equal to 0.05, p less than or equal to 0.01, respectively.) Thus, noninvasive measurement of ascending aortic blood velocity and acceleration allows rapid assessment of left ventricular function and provides indexes closely related to the patients' clinical status and subsequent risk of mortality, indicating the potential of the Doppler technique in the prognosis and subsequent management of patients with myocardial infarction.