[Diagnosis of impairment of segmental myocardial contractility during the acute phase of infarction using sector scanning].

The paper is concerned with sector scanning for early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. A total of 157 patients were examined within the first 2 to 6 hours after transmural infarction. The segments of the left ventricle which are mostly affected in infarctions of different sites were defined. Application of two-dimensional echocardiography permitted an earlier detecting of the segmental disorders and the extent of the focus of lesion as compared with the ECG. The method appeared particularly informative in the diagnosis of conduction impairment and repeated lesions of the left ventricular myocardium. It has been demonstrated that involvement of over 65% of left ventricular segments is an unfavourable sign from the standpoint of the disease prognosis.