HIGH-RESOLUTION ECG AND LEFT-VENTRICULAR VOLUME AFTER ACUTE MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION

The presence of ventricular rate potentials (LPs) early after acute my ocardial infarction (AMI) wets recently reported to correlate with lef t ventricular dilatation subsequent to AMI. We assessed prospectively the relationship between LP (time domain) in the late phase of AMI and left ventricular end-diastolic volume (EDV) measured by equilibrium r adionuclide angiocardiography 4 weeks and 12 months after AMI. In 80 c onsecutive patients 4 weeks and it months after thrombolytic therapy f or AA II, LP and EDV were determined (EDV1, EDV2). There was no signif icant correlation between QRS duration (r = 0.18), RMS40 (r = 0.08), o r LAS40 (r = 0.1) and EDV1 or EDV2 in patients with or without LP at b aseline. In both groups (patients with [n = 15] and without LP [n = 65 ]), EDV1 and EDV2 were comparable (128 +/- 32 mt vs 126 +/- 35 mL; 114 +/- 40 mL vs 117 +/- 36 mL; P = NS). In addition, there was no signif icant difference between EDV1 and EDV2 in patients who developed new L P (n = 6) or lost LP (n = 9) 12 months after AMI. In contrast to LP in the very early phase after AMI, there seems to be no significant corr elation between the high resolution ECG ill the late phase after throm bolytic therapy for AMI and left ventricular EDV.