Quantitation of Precordial Movement

Precordial displacement records of 39 patients with mitral regurgitation have been analyzed using a new method of quantitation. Three groups of patients were studied, and the data from each group have been compared in a number of different ways to those obtained from a control group. The optimal method of discrimination is a graphic representation involving the two variables of the height of the outward movement in systole and the height of the rapid-filling wave. This method allows discrimination between normal persons and patients with mitral regurgitation in a high proportion of cases. It is postulated that the increase of systolic outward movement in patients with mitral regurgitation is related to an increase in stroke volume of the left ventricle, and the increase in the height or the slope of the rapid-filling wave represents increase in flow and rate of flow into the ventricle in early diastole. The importance of consideration of the functional status of the ventricle in the assessment of precordial movement is stressed.