Characteristic changes in systolic time intervals have been described in left ventricular failure, and it has been held that patients with coronary artery disease have similar abnormalities in pre-ejection and ejection times as well as in the length of total electromechanical systole. In order to assess the contribution of systolic time intervals to the clinical evaluation of patients with coronary artery disease, correlative studies were made between systolic time intervals and the standard variables of contractility and performance obtained at cardiac catheterization.A wide spectrum of left ventricular functional disturbance was present in 36 male patients with electrocardiographically and angiographically demonstrable coronary artery disease. While excellent correlations were shown between contractility indices, especially dp/dt max, and ejection fraction and extent of asynergy, systolic time intervals were not reliable indices of ventricular function. It is doubtful whether systolic time intervals are of value in the clinical assessment of coronary artery disease.

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