Heart Volume and Its Relation to Measures of Circulatory Function in Healthy Young Men

Several roentgenological methods for determination of the heart volume have been presented. In order to evaluate the influence of different projections and body positions on two of these methods, the relationship between the heart volume and different measures of the circulatory function capacity was studied in a series of healthy 20‐year‐old subjects. In the heart volume determination seven different projections and positions were used and two formulae were applied. For each of the 14 methods of calculation, the regression line and residual variance were calculated, as well as the coefficients of correlation for the different function parameters. Special attention was paid to the relationship between the work load at a pulse rate of 170 per min ( W 170 ) and the heart volume. The regression equations obtained deviated considerably from those described previously. A high correlation was found, however, between the heart volume and ( a ) W 170 and ( b ) the oxygen pulse, among other parameters.