THE FUNCTIONAL STATUS OF THE LEFT-HEART I N LEFT-BUNDLE-BRANCH BLOCK

A complex Doppler echocardiographic study was performed in 134 patient s with complete block of the left bundle branch, its anterior branch o r with concurrence of these two types of intraventricular conduction d isturbance. The authors identified 5 types of paradoxical ventricular septal motion, which were related to the specific features of intraven tricular asynchronism and ventricular electric systole. Type I shows t he greatest decrease in left ventricular contractility, left atrial ov erload and phasic destruction of left ventricular systole, which refle cts the processes of depolarization and repolarization propagation in the myocardium. Type IV is characterized by the lowest number of hemod ynamic abnormalities. Cardiac hemodynamics is also related to the type of intraventricular block, being the least changed in isolated anteri or left bundle-branch and the most changed in concurrent anterior bran ch and entire left bundle-branch block.