Echocardiographic study of the Duchenne type of progressive muscular dystrophy.

The present study was undertaken in an attempt to clarify whether or not any relationship exists between the echocardiographic indices of cardiac function and the severity of progressive muscular dystrophy of the Duchenne type (PMD). A total of 75 patients with PMD was used for analysis. Among the echocardiographic parameters measured in the study, the maximal diastolic endocardial velocity (DEVM) and ejection fraction (EF) revealed a gradual decreasing tendency with increasing severity of the disorder. It can be concluded therefore that DEVM and EF may represent useful indices in the assessment of cardiac function in PMD.