Analysis of fractional area change at various levels in the normal left ventricle

Percent change in left ventricular cross-sectional area between diastole and systole (fractional area change) is an ejection phase index of contractile function.¹ Normal values for fractional area change have been determined at the level of the papillary muscles in the echocardiographic parasternal short-axis view,² and fractional area change has been found to correlate well with ejection fraction in both normal and abnormal subjects.³ We studied 8 subjects with normal left ventricular function to assess whether fractional area change varies significantly at different cross-sectional levels of the left ventricular cavity.