Normal Values of Left Ventricular Mass by Echocardiography in Korean Children

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Determination of left ventricular myocardial mass with echocardiography is feasible and validated. American Society of Echocardiography(ASE) issued recommendations for the quantitation of the left ventricle by M-mode echocardiography. The purpose of this study is to determine the mean value of left ventricular mass in Korean children. METHODS: We measured left ventricular mass in 498 subjects(male 289, female 209) using ASE cube method with correction in M-mode method. RESULTS: 1) The mean value of left ventricular mass corrected by body surface area are respectively 54.87+/-27.45 gm/m2 in Korean male children, and 49.57+/-23.16 gm/m2 in Korean female children, by echocardiography in accordance with the ASE convention. 2) The left ventricular mass correlated well with the left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, interventricular septal thickness, left ventricular posterior wall thickness, and left ventricular end-diastolic volume. CONCLUSIONS: These normal values shoud provide a valuable database for further studies of the development of left ventricular mass in patients with various cardiac abnormalities.