Real-time transthoracic three-dimensional echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular volume and ejection fraction in congenital heart disease.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the (1) feasibility of real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT-3DE) data acquisition and (2) volumes and function of the abnormal left ventricle (LV) in adult patients with congenital heart disease (CHD), compared with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data.

Methods: Thirty-two patients (59% were male) with CHD were evaluated on the same day by MRI and RT-3DE. Acquisition of RT-3DE data sets was feasible in 29 of the 32 patients (91%). The time of 3D data acquisition was 4 +/- 2 minutes, and LV analysis was 17 +/- 5 minutes per patient for manual border tracing.

Results: A good correlation was observed between RT-3DE with manual border detection and MRI for LV end-diastolic volume (r = 0.97), LV end-systolic volume (r = 0.98), and LV ejection fraction (r = 0.94).

Conclusion: RT-3DE is feasible for volumetric analysis of the abnormal LV allowing accurate determination of LV volume and ejection fraction compared with MRI in adult patients with CHD.