Background. In patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), LV function and volumes are important parameters for long-term prognosis. Multislice computed tomography (MSCT) allows noninvasive assessment of the coronary arteries, but the accuracy of 64-slice MSCT for the assessment of left ventricular (LV) volumes and function is unknown. Methods and Results. A head-to-head comparison between 64-slice MSCT and 2-dimensional (2D) echocardiography was performed in 40 patients with known or suspected CAD. The LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and LV end-systolic volume (LVESV) were determined and the LV ejection fraction (LVEF) was derived. Regional wall motion was assessed visually using a 17-segment model. A 3-point scoring system was used to assign to each segment a wall motion score: 1 β«Ψβ¬ normokinesia, 2 β«Ψβ¬ hypokinesia, 3 β«Ψβ¬ akinesia or dyskinesia. Two-dimensional echocardiography served as the gold standard. MSCT agreed well with 2D echocardiography for assessment of LVEDV (r β«Ψβ¬ 0.97; p < .0001) and LVESV (r β«Ψβ¬ 0.98; p < .0001). An excellent correlation between MSCT and 2D echocardiography was shown for the evaluation of LVEF (r β«Ψβ¬ 0.91; p < .0001).
Agreement for the assessment of regional wall motion was excellent (96%, β«Ψβ¬ 0.82).
Conclusions. An accurate assessment of global and regional LV function and volumes is feasible with 64-slice MSCT. (