Comparison of cross-sectional and M-mode multidirectional echocardiography in ischaemic heart disease.

Cross-sectional and multidirectional M-mode echocardiographic techniques were compared in the assessment of the site and size of asynergic regions of the left ventricle in 13 patients with acute or chronic ischaemic heart disease. The left ventricular short axis diameters measured from the same recording position were similar (r = 0.81). The centre sites of asynergy detected by both echo techniques corresponded well with each other, and with electrocardiographic site of infarction. Regional motion could be analyzed in asynergic left ventricles in 71% of the segments with the cross-sectional technique; in 3 patients no clear images were obtained. The M-mode echoventriculography detected asynergic motion and correctly assessed the presence of scar tissue in 4 patients with old myocardial infarction. With the cross sectional technique this differentiation was not possible. It is concluded that the multidirectional M-mode echocardiography technique gives sharper definition of the asynergic segments in acute or chronic ischaemic heart disease, while the spatial orientation to the left ventricle is more convenient with the cross-sectional technique.