Myocardial blood flow in mitral valve disease and in primary congestive cardiomyopathy, and its relation to some haemodynamic indices.

Myocardial blood flow was estimated using the technique of selective xenon-133 solution injection into the coronary artery, in 20 patients with mitral stenosis, 8 patients with mitral insufficiency, 8 patients with primary cardiomyopathy, and in 7 healthy subjects. The mean value of myocardial blood flow in mitral stenosis (60.9 +/- 10.5 ml/min/100 g) and in mitral insufficiency (58.5 +/- 7.7) did not differ from the mean value obtained in the control group (66.0 +/- 9.1). On the other hand, myocardial blood flow in primary congestive cardiomyopathy was significantly diminished (54.1 +/- 8.6). Myocardial blood flow was also lowered in patients with class IV of heart failure (48.3 +/- 7.6), as compared to healthy subjects. A positive correlation was found between myocardial blood flow and the left ventricular work index (r = 0.48, p less than 0.05), as well as between myocardial blood flow and the right ventricular work index (r = 0.47, p less than 0.05). A weak correlation was noticed between myocardial blood flow and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (r = 0.38, p less than 0.05), as well as between myocardial blood flow and right ventricular end-diastolic pressure (r = 0.34, p less than 0.05).