Assessment of left ventricular systolic function by the chest x-ray: comparison with radionuclide ventriculography.

Background: The value of the plain chest roentgenogram in predicting cardiac status remains controversial.

Methods And Results: A total of 111 randomly selected survivors of acute myocardial infarction (age 38 to 83 years) were studied prospectively. X-ray and radionuclide examinations were performed on a morning in the second week after myocardial infarction.