Computer-assisted morphometric analysis of the heart.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the applicability of the image analyzer for morphometric study of cardiomyopathies.

STUDY DESIGN

A computer-assisted methodology for the morphometric study of ischemic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy and right ventricular dysplasia.

RESULTS

In each heart, 200 nuclear lengths and myocyte diameters, 160 fields for nuclear density, 420 fields for interstitial fibrosis and 350 fields for replacement fibrosis were evaluated. In ischemic cardiomyopathy, the multiple foci of replacement fibrosis of the myocardium, in addition to interstitial fibrosis, appear to be the major cause of ventricular remodelling. In dilated cardiomyopathy the major pathologic processes are myocyte cell death and segmental, replacement and interstitial fibrosis. In right ventricular dysplasia the heart develops congestive failure due to a conspicuous increase in the volume of the right ventricle without an appreciable loss of the number of myocytes.

CONCLUSION

The traditional morphometric methods based on test grids for the study of pathologic hearts can be enhanced using an image analyzer. In this way one can study a large area of the myocardium and collect a very large number of data. This may be the method of choice for analyses of pathologic human hearts.