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In Vivo Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Structure, Function, Perfusion and Viability Using Cardiac Micro-computed Tomography
Published on: February 16, 2016
Reduced regional systolic function is not confined to the noncompacted segments in noncompaction cardiomyopathy
Attila Nemes1, Kadir Caliskan, Marcel L Geleijnse
12nd Department of Medicine and Cardiology Centre, University of Szeged, Hungary.
Insights
Systolic dysfunction in isolated ventricular noncompaction (IVNC) affects both compacted and noncompacted left ventricular (LV) segments. This suggests LV dysfunction in IVNC is widespread, not limited to the noncompacted areas.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Genetics
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Isolated ventricular noncompaction (IVNC) is a rare genetic cardiomyopathy.
- Understanding the contribution of different left ventricular (LV) segments to dysfunction is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate regional LV dysfunction in IVNC using real-time 3D echocardiography.
- To compare the systolic performance of noncompacted versus compacted LV segments.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 289 LV segments from 17 IVNC patients and 153 segments from 9 controls.
- Assessment of systolic performance using wall motion score (2D echo) and regional volume measurements (RT3DE).
Main Results:
- Compacted LV segments in IVNC patients showed abnormal wall motion, though less so than noncompacted segments.
- No correlation found between the extent of noncompaction and LV ejection fraction or end-diastolic volume.
- Both noncompacted and compacted segments exhibited increased 3D regional volumes and reduced systolic function.
Conclusions:
- LV systolic dysfunction in IVNC is not solely attributed to noncompacted segments.
- The findings indicate a more global impact of IVNC on LV function.
Background:
Isolated ventricular noncompaction (IVNC) is a relatively rare genetic primary cardiomyopathy. The aim of the present study was to investigate with regional real-time three-dimensional echocardiographic analysis whether there is a difference between the contribution of noncompacted and compacted left ventricular (LV) segments to global LV dysfunction in patients with IVNC.
Methods:
The study comprised 289 segments of 17 patients with stringent diagnostic criteria for IVNC. Their results were compared to 153 segments of 9 control subjects. The systolic performance of compacted and noncompacted LV segments was assessed using the wall motion score during 2D echocardiography. The 3D images were acquired with a RT3DE system with X4 matrix-array transducer and were used for the regional volume measurements.
Results:
Wall motion score index was markedly abnormal in the compacted LV segments of IVNC patients but significantly less abnormal compared to the noncompacted segments (2.21+/-0.63 vs. 2.01+/-0.74, p<0.05). No relationship was found between the number of noncompacted segments per patient and LV ejection fraction or end-diastolic volume. In the IVNC patients, noncompacted and compacted LV segments had comparable increased 3D regional volumes and reduced systolic function.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that systolic LV dysfunction observed in IVNC is not confined to noncompacted LV segments.
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