Background: Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular mass (LVM) and mass/volume ratio (LVM/V) is an accurate method for evaluating left ventricular hypertrophy. However, reference values for LVM and left ventricular volume (V) in children under 6 years of age have not been well established.
Methods: Therefore, we evaluated 106 consecutive children (60 males, 46 females, mean age +/- SD 35 +/- 28 months, range 0-72) free of cardiovascular disease by clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic examination. LVM and V were determined by M-mode echocardiography.
Results: The 5th and 95th percentile values of LVM were: 7 and 21 grams for infants aged 0 to 6 months; 13 and 32 grams for 7 to 24 months; 23 and 41 grams for 25 to 36 months; 23 and 59 grams for 37 to 48 months; 30 and 60 grams for 49 and 60 months; 36 and 98 grams for 61 and 72 months. The 5th and 95th percentile values of V were: 4 and 20 ml for infants aged 0 to 6 months; 12 and 36 ml for 7 to 24 months; 16 and 43 ml for 25 to 36 months; 20 to 55 ml for 37 to 48 months; 27 to 64 ml for 49 to 60 months; 39 to 74 ml for 61 to 72 months. The 5th and 95th percentile values of M/V ranged between 1 and 2.3 for infants aged 0 to 6 months, and 0.7-1.2 for those aged 61 to 72 months. LVM, V and LVM/V were significantly (p < 0.0001) related to age, height, weight and body surface area, but were unrelated to gender.