J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  1999 Dec;10(4):587-598.

New Index of Combined Systolic and Diastolic Cardiac Performance Using Echo-Dopple Methods: The Utility of Cardiac Performance Index in the Screening Test of Cardiac Dysfunction due to Acute Myocardial Infarction

• Kim W
• Lim KS
• Lee YJ
• Choi OK
• Jeon JM

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Because systolic and diastolic dysfunction frequently coexist in acute myocardial infarction(AMI), we hypothesize that a combined measure of ventricular performance using Doppler echocardiography may be more sensitive and time-saving diagnostic tool for the evaluation of patients presenting with cardiogenic chest pain.
METHOD AND RESULTS
Seventy-one patients with AMI (47 male, 59+/-11 years) and 45 patients with normal coronary artery (29 male, 52+/-11 years) were included in the study for measurement of cardiac performance index and established parameters of ventricular function using conventional echo-Doppler methods. a new derived index of cardiac performance: (ICT+IRT)/ET, was obtained by subtracting ejection time(ET) from the interval between cessation and onset of the mitral inflow velocity to give the sum of isovolumic contraction time(ICT) and isovolumic relaxation time(IRT). The mean value of the index was significantly different between normal and AMI(p<0.01). The degree of inter-group overlap was smaller for the index compared to other parameters. within functional groups, the value of the index did not appear to be related to heart rate, mean arterial pressure and the degree of mitral regurgitation.
CONCLUSION
cardiac performance index is a conceptually new, simple and reproducible Doppler index of combined systolic and diastolic myocardial performance, and it is useful as screening test for patients with cardiac dysfunction due to AMI.

MeSH Terms

Arterial Pressure
Chest Pain
Coronary Vessels
Echocardiography, Doppler
Heart Rate
Humans
Male
Mass Screening*
Mitral Valve Insufficiency
Myocardial Infarction*
Relaxation
Ventricular Function