Systolic thickening and thinning of the septum and posterior wall in patients with coronary artery disease, congestive cardiomyopathy, and atrial septal defect.

Echocardiographic septal and posterior wall thicknesses and the percent change with systole were measured in 146 patients with the following diagnoses: acute myocardial infarction (40), chronic coronary artery disease (49), congestive cardiomyopathy (8), atrial septal defect (20), and no cardiac disease (29). Mean diastolic thicknesses for the groups of patients with coronary artery disease and congestive cardiomyopathy were not significantly different from normal although there were abnormal values for individual patients within each group. Mean diastolic thickness of the septum was greater than normal for the group with atrial septal defect (P less than 0.02). Wall thinning with systole was associated with acute infarction or ischemia (P less than 0.0001); decreased thickening (less than normal) commonly occurred in patients with acute myocardial infarction, chronic coronary artery disease, and congestive cardiomyopathy. Patients with atrial septal defect had normal thickening with abnormal motion. Results of this study show that 1) systolic thinning is indicative of an acute event; 2) abnormal changes in systolic wall thickening occur commonly in patients with coronary artery disease or congestive cardiomyopathy; and 3) abnormal wall motion may occur without abnormal wall thickening, as the echoes of patients with atrial septal defect indicate.