Objectives: Obtain normal reference ranges for left ventricular (LV) volume indexes (VI) and ejection fraction (EF) with fast real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE) with online analysis.
Design: After a screening visit 166 healthy participants, 79 males and 87 females aged 29-80 years were examined with RT3DE and Doppler.
Results: Upper normal values (mean + 2 standard deviations [SD]) for LV end-diastolic volume index (LVEDVI) and LV end-systolic volume index (LVESVI) were 82 ml/m(2) and 38 ml/m(2), respectively. The lower limit (mean - 2 SD) for LVEF was 49%. LVVI were significantly larger among males (p < 0.001). LV stroke volume (SD) was 87 (22) ml with Doppler vs. 69 (14) ml with RT3DE (p < 0.001). In males there was a positive correlation between age and LVEF (r = 0.34, p = 0.003). In a reproducibility study of RT3DE and 2-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) the coefficients of variability for repeated recordings were 5.7% for LVEDV, 7.7% for LVESV and 6.7% for LVEF with RT3DE, and 8.6%, 8.6% and 6.4% with 2DE, respectively.
Conclusions: These reference values presented from a large group of normal subjects over a wide age range with RT3DE may represent a valuable tool to evaluate if LV systolic dysfunction is present or not.