Postural changes of vectorcardiogram in defect of the left pericardium.

Effects of postural changes upon the vectorcardiograms (VCGs) of four cases with a defect of the left pericardium (three complete and one partial) were compared to those of 115 control cases. Changes in the direction of a given instantaneous vector brought about by postural changes were significantly larger in cases with a pericardial defect than in controls. By turning to the left lateral position, the magnitude of the maximum leftward force decreased in all cases with complete defect, and increased in the case with partial defect and in 96% of controls. These findings were considered to reflect the increased mobility of the heart in cases with pericardial defect due to the lack of the restraining function of the pericardium.