A STUDY ON VECTORCARDIOGRAPHIC CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING RIGHT VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

Vectorcardiographic analysis was mainly made on the basis of hemodynamic findings through right heart catheterization in COPD. From the results obtained in the present study, the authors proposed the following quantitative VCG criteria as a means for clinical recognition of right ventricular overload in patients with COPD. (I) Individual parameters of the criteria are: i) The QRS loop; (a) P/A (posterior force/anterior force)≥2.8 (b) R/L (rightward force/leftward force)≥0.6 (c) P/L (posterior force/left ward force)≥1.8 ii) The P loop; Ap/Pp (anterior force/posterior force)≥1.8 (II) Criteria i) "RVH" (right ventricular hypertrophy)" should satisfy most than 3 of the above individual parameters. ii) "RVH suspected" should satisfy 1 or 2 of them. iii) "RVH negative" should not satisfy any of them. The recognition rate for RVH by the present VCG criteria was higher than the conventional ECG criteria and there was good correspondence with autopsy findings. A summary of the present paper was reported at the 66th and 67th Annual Meetings of Japanese Society of Internal Medicine and at the 33th and 38th Annual Meetings of Japanese Circulation Society.