Cardiology Letters 2021, 30(1):31-36

The use of deformation parameters in assessment of left ventricle subclinical dysfunction

Beňačka O, Gonçalvesová E

Kardiologická klinika Lekárská fakulta UK a Národný ústav srdcových a cievnych chorôb, a. s., Bratislava, Slovenská republika

Normal ejection fraction does not truly mean normal systolic function of the myocardium. The ejection mechanism is a complex motion consisting of many shears and rotation. The deformation in longitudinal direction is the most vulnerable part of this complex move. The initial impairment of longitudinal strain is not truly visible by simple, eyeballing, in the echocardiographic examination. The speckle tracking method is an appropriate method to detect such small impairments. In the last 15 years this method has became standard, the reference values have been set up and finally it has found clinical applications. It seems to be useful in cases in which it is necessary to evaluate if the systolic function is already subclinically damaged: typically in severe asymptomatic aortic stenosis, in cardiooncology or in differential diagnosis of thick wall myocardium. The speckle tracking option will soon be a standard part of the software package of every ultrasound machine so it is good to emphasize some practical aspects of dataset aquisition.

Keywords: strain; longitudinal strain; speckle tracking; subclinical dysfunction

Published: January 1, 2021  Show citation