Height Versus Body Surface Area to Normalize Cardiovascular Measurements in Children Using the Pediatric Heart Network Echocardiographic Z-Score Database.

Normalizing cardiovascular measurements for body size allows for comparison among children of different ages and for distinguishing pathologic changes from normal physiologic growth. Because of growing interest to use height for normalization, the aim of this study was to develop height-based normalization models and compare them to body surface area (BSA)-based normalization for aortic and left ventricular (LV) measurements. The study population consisted of healthy, non-obese children between 2 and 18 years of age enrolled in the Pediatric Heart Network Echo Z-Score Project.

Impaired Single Right Ventricular Function Compared to Single Left Ventricles during the Early Stages of Palliation: A Longitudinal Study.

Background: Single right ventricles (SRV) are postulated to be disadvantaged compared with single left ventricles (SLV). We compared the evolution of SRV versus SLV function during infancy using conventional measures and speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE). We hypothesized that the SRV is mechanically disadvantaged during early infancy.