An index of the contractile state of the myocardium in man

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Abstract

There is a profound need, on both clinical and physiologic grounds, for a measure of the contractile state of the intact ventricle. Such a measure can be obtained by evaluating the force-velocity relationship with a correction for myocardial fiber length. The force-velocity relation can be expressed as the ratio of maximum rate of pressure rise to maximum isovolumetric pressure, a quantity which was described by Hill as the maximum rate of proportional rise of pressure and which is similar to the velocity constant of a chemical reaction. Division of this ratio by an estimate of ventricular circumference corrects for variations due to differences in initial fiber length.

Authors

Martin J. Frank, Gilbert E. Levinson