Assessment of left ventricular wall motion abnormalities with the use of color kinesis: a valuable visual and training aid.

Accurate interpretation of left ventricular segmental wall motion by echocardiography is an important yet difficult skill to learn. Color-coded left ventricular wall motion (color kinesis) is a tool that potentially could aid in the interpretation and provide semiquantification. We studied the usefulness of color kinesis in 42 patients with a history of congestive cardiomyopathy who underwent two-dimensional echocardiograms and a color kinesis study. The expert's reading of the two-dimensional wall motion served as a reference for comparison of color kinesis studies interpreted by the expert and a cardiovascular trainee. Correlation between two-dimensional echocardiography and the expert's and trainee's color coded wall motion scores were r = 0.83 and r = 0.67, respectively. Reproducibility between reviewers and between operators was also assessed. Interobserver variability for color-coded wall motion showed a correlation of r = 0.78. Correlation between operators was also good; r = 0.84. Color kinesis is reliable and appears promising as an adjunct in the assessment of wall motion abnormalities by echocardiography. It is both a valuable visual aid, as well as a training aid for the cardiovascular trainee.