Kinetocardiographic detection of ventricular dyssynergy after myocardial infarction. Correlations with two-dimensional echocardiography.

The aim of this study was to determine if kinetocardiography can detect regional abnormalities of left ventricular kinetics, as occurs in coronary patients. Kinetocardiogram, M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiograms were recorded in 33 subjects (mean age 63, range 29-75 years), who previously had a myocardial infarction. On two dimensional echocardiograms, long axis, short axis, apical 4-chamber and apical 2-chamber projections were studied. Regional contractile abnormalities were rated as hypokinesis, akinesis, dyskinesis and aneurysm. In 6 subjects two dimensional echocardiogram was normal, in 5 it showed hypokinesis with left ventricular normal dimension or dilatation, and in the remaining 22 patients various regional kinetic abnormalities were observed. The kinetocardiogram showed paradoxical systolic movements in all patients with ventricular dyssynergy and was normal in all patients with normal ventricular kinetics, with or without left ventricular dilatation and global hypokinesis. There were no correspondences between echocardiography and kinetocardiography, regarding sites and amount of abnormalities. Kinetocardiography can thus noninvasively detect qualitative left ventricular kinetics abnormalities, in patients with myocardial infarction.