[Motion of the posterior wall in the m-mode echocardiogram - a parameter of global left function (author's transl)].

The cardiac output was determined by thermodilution in 42 patients during heart catheterization and compared to the amplitude of the posterior aortic wall in the m-mode echocardiogram. The amplitude of the posterior aortic wall was measured at the time of the closure of the aortic cusps (KS) and at the time the maximal excursion of the posterior aortic wall occurred (GA). Both parameters correlated strongly to the cardia output (r = 0.84, KS; r = 0.76, GA) and to the forward stroke volume (r = 0.81, KS; r = 0.73, GA). Thus, the amplitude of the posterior aortic wall in the m-mode echocardiogram is a useful parameter in predicting left ventricular function especially in those patients, in whom determination of left ventricular function from the m-mode echocardiogram is limited due to left ventricular asynergy.