Postgraduate medical journal
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Comparative Study
Unreliability of cardiothoracic ratio as a marker of left ventricular impairment: comparison with radionuclide ventriculography and echocardiography.
The size of the heart assessed by cardiothoracic ratio on chest radiography is often used as a screening test for the presence of heart failure and for assessing its severity. ⋯ Chest radiography is not a reliable indicator of the degree of left ventricular dysfunction. Echocardiography and radionuclide ventriculography are more appropriate investigations for assessing cardiac function.