The associations between 6 echocardiographic measurements and ventricular arrhythmias on 1-hour ambulatory electrocardiograms were evaluated in 3,348 subjects of the Framingham Heart Study who were free of symptomatic coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure and valvular heart disease and were not receiving diuretic drugs or other blood pressure or cardiac medications. Age-adjusted estimates of association between echocardiographic measurements of left ventricular (LV) structure and function and complex or frequent (Lown grade 2 or greater) ventricular arrhythmia were computed using logistic regression. In this bivariate model only LV internal diameter (systolic and diastolic) and fractional shortening were associated with arrhythmia in both sexes (p less than 0.01). When all variables were entered into a multivariate model, only age and systolic LV internal diameter remained independently associated with arrhythmia (p less than 0.001). Thus, LV chamber size and function are important predictors of risk for ventricular arrhythmia. Systolic LV internal diameter, which reflects both functional and structural information, is the only measurement independently predictive of arrhythmia risk in persons free of apparent heart disease.