[Evaluation of the contractile reserve of the myocardium by post-extrasystolic potentiation in aortic insufficiency].

Calculations were made of the indices of ventricular performance during the ejectional phase in 10 patients with a normal left ventricle and in 24 patients with aortic aneurysm, both under basal conditions and in the presence of extrasystoles produced incidentally during left biplanar cineventriculography. The fact that these indices were constantly raised implies the presence of post-extrasystole potentiation associated with an increase in contractility without significant changes in load. This technique, which provides a dynamic study of the behavior of the left ventricle in aortic incompetence allows us to assess the contractile reserve, and thus to give a more accurate prediction of the potential for recovery after operation.