Abstract:OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the value of acoustic densitometry (AD) in detecting myocardium damage of the left ventricle secondry to hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (PH). METHODS: Using the rabbit model of hypoxic PH, the density of various locations of the left ventricular myocardium in the hypoxic PH group and the normal control group were detected by the technique of AD. RESULTS: Compared with the normal control group, average image intensity (All) of the left ventricular anterior wall (LVA) in the hypoxic PH group increased ( P <0.05), while the difference between the standard deviation intensity (SDI) and peak to peak intensity (CVIB) of LVA were not significantly different ( P > 0.05). The CVIB of the middle of the interventricular septum (IVSM) in the hypoxic PH group was lower than that of the normal control group ( P <0.05). The All of IVSM and the left ventricle posterior wall (LVPW) in the hypoxic PH group were higher than those of the normal control group ( P < 0.05). In various locations of the left ventricular myocardium, the value of All and the left ventricle diastolic end pressure (LVDEP) were positively related ( r = 0.6206 -0.6311, P <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The AD technique is useful in evaluating the extent of damage of the left ventricular myocardium in hypoxic PH.
