[Studies of interventricular septal motion after heart valve replacement by two-dimensional echocardiography and thallium 201 scintigraphy (author's transl)].

Etiology of abnormal interventricular septal motion detected by M-mode echocardiography after heart valve replacement was studied by two-dimensional echocardiography and thallium 201 scintigraphy in three patients with valvular heart disease (two with mitral regurgitation, and one with aortic regurgitation). M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiograms were recorded before and after heart valve replacement, using Aloka SSD-800. After intravenous injection of 2.0 mCi of ionic thallium 201, myocardial images were recorded with a scintillation camera (Searle PHO Gamma V) with converging collimator. Abnormal interventricular septal motion (systolic anterior motion) was observed echocardiographically in all of three patients after mitral or aortic valve replacement. Two-dimensional echocardiogram showed systolic anterior motion of the whole heart towards the anterior chest wall, though the left ventricle itself contracted normally. Thallium 201 scintigram showed no significant perfusion defects of the left ventricular wall including ventricular septum. No findings showing conduction disturbance, right ventricular volume overload or pericardial effusion were observed after heart valve replacement.