Left ventricular function during atrial pacing: a radionuclide angiographic study.

Multigated radionuclide angiography was performed at rest and during atrial pacing in 10 normal subjects. Left ventricular volumes in diastole and systole were measured by total counts in the region of interest of the left ventricle. Stroke volume, cardiac output, ejection fraction, and rates of ejection for each heart rate were calculated. As heart rate increased, there was a gradual decrease in end-diastolic, end-systolic, and stroke volumes without a significant change in cardiac output and ejection fraction. Ejection fraction rate increased and the uncorrected ejection rate decreased with the increase in heart rate. The normal response to tachycardia induced by atrial pacing was a decrease in ventricular volumes without a change in ejection fraction or cardiac output.