Significant difference in cardiac ventricular dimensions when measured using two different standard methods

Abstract

Cardiac ventricular dimensions measured at postmortem examination are used to assess whether there is hypertrophy of the heart chambers. However, there is no clear consensus on where these measurements should be taken. Some have proposed this should be measured at the mid-ventricular level, but others advocate it should be measured at a set distance (e.g. 20 mm) from the base of the heart. Twenty consecutive adult hearts were examined and showed the ventricular dimensions were significantly higher (mean: 5-15 mm, p < 0.01) when measured at a level 20 mm from the base of the heart compared to the mid-ventricular level. Of clinical significance is that in slightly less than half the cases, normal ventricular dimensions at mid ventricle level fell within the criteria considered pathological (> 40 mm) when measured at 20 mm from the base of the heart. In terms of actual ventricular dimensions, only the left ventricle diameter measured at 20 mm from the base of the heart correlated significantly (albeit moderately) with heart weight, suggesting it can be a predictor for cardiac hypertrophy.

Keywords: Autopsy; Dimensions; Heart; Hypertrophy; Postmortem; Ventricle.

Fig. 1

Ventricular dimensions taken at the mid-ventricular level and 20 mm from the base of the heart. The right pane shows how these two levels were established from the posterior aspect of the heart; the left panel shows how the ventricular dimensions were measured