Evaluation on left ventricular systolic hemodynamics with VFM in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy

Objective To investigate the application value of vector flow mapping(VFM) in evaluation on left ventricular systolic function and changes in the hemodynamics of dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM) patients.Methods Thirty DCM patients were enrolled as patient group,while 40 healthy volunteers were taken as control group.Systolic velocity(Vs),systolic flow(Fs) and systole Q-(SQ-) of the two groups were measured and compared with VFM.Left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) was obtained with biplane Simpson method.Correlation analysis was performed between EF and Vs,Fs and SQ-.Meanwhile,the characteristics of the vortex distribution in left ventricle of DCM patients were observed.Results Value of Vs,Fs,SQ-of basal,middle,apical segments in the patients group were significantly lower than those of the control group(P0.01).Comparison of these indicators of both groups showed a gradually decreasing trend from the basal to apical segments(P0.05).Significant positive correlation(P0.01) was found between LVEF and Vs,Fs,SQ-(r=0.727,0.698,0.709,respectively).Vortexes were observed in all the three systolic phases in DCM patients,and the number and diameter of vortexes were much larger than those of the control group.Conclusion VFM technology could provide more quantitative and intuitive information about changes of blood flow in left ventricular cavity of DCM patients.It is possible to become a useful clinical tool,which is helpful to further understanding of the systolic function of DCM patients.