Tardokinesia: Definition and clinical occurrence

Tardokinesia is an abnormal slowness of contraction of a region of the left ventricular (LV) wall. This concept was stated in quantitative terms and used for analyzing LV regional wall motion. Forty-four consecutive patients from the case stream of the Cardiovascular Radiology Service were chosen, and their cine left ventriculograms were studied. A polar grid of thirty radii, at twelve degree increments, was superimposed on the tracing of each ventricle. The wall motion was measured at thirty points, and the location, speed, and acceleration of each point in each cine was calculated. Two cases of tardokinesia were found. Tardokinesia might be a sensitive or early indicator of ischemic heart disease.