A comparison between MUGA and echocardiography in patients with muscular dystrophy in the early detection of cardiac involvement.

Muscular dystrophies are a group of sex-linked diseases with frequent myocardial involvement. In this study 14 patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), 7 with Becker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD), and 8 female carriers who were asymptomatic were evaluated with echocardiography and multigated radionuclide ventriculography (MUGA). All showed predominant systolic and minor diastolic left ventricular dysfunction determined both by echocardiography and MUGA when compared with healthy controls. In conclusion, it is recommended that DMD, BMD, and female carriers be evaluated and closely monitored for cardiac functions. Though MUGA and echocardiography are both effective and sensitive techniques, echocardiography is more convenient for availability and serial evaluation.