[Intrathoracic movement of the normal and hypertrophied hearts measured by biplane coronary cineangiography].

The shift of the heart during systole within the thorax was measured using bifurcations of the left coronary artery as cineangiographic markers. Biplane coronary cineangiography was performed in 13 normal subjects and 6 patients with non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The spatial coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the bifurcations on the cineangiograms were measured using a motion analizer-digitizer-computer system. The systolic excursion of the motion of a bifurcation located at the anterior-basal point of the heart was 1.4 +/- 0.1 (+/-SD) cm leftward, 3.0 +/- 0.3 cm caudally and 2.5 +/- 0.1 cm anteriorly in normal subjects. In the cases with HCM, on the other hand, the bifurcation moved 2.2 +/- 1.1, 2.7 +/- 1.2 and 2.2 +/- 0.6 cm during systole, respectively. The movement at the apex in the normal subjects was 1.7 +/- 0.2 cm rightward, 1.5 +/- 0.2 cm caudally and 1.5 +/- 0.2 cm posteriorly, although the direction was reversed as compared to that of the anterior wall of the cardiac base. The amplitude of the excursion was also reduced at the apex, suggesting the systolic twist of the ventricular wall. The excursion of the apex in HCM was 0.6 +/- 1.7, 1.5 +/- 1.8 and 2.5 +/- 1.4 cm, respectively, toward the base of the heart as in the normal subjects. The maximum speeds of these motions were 34.0 +/- 9.2 cm/sec leftward, caudally and anteriory at the anterior-basal point and 36.2 +/- 7.3 cm/sec rightward, caudally and posteriorly in the normal subjects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)