Differences in tissue Doppler imaging between single ventricles after the fontan operation and normal controls

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Pediatric Cardiology
• Echocardiography

Background:

• Systemic single ventricle physiology presents unique challenges in assessing cardiac function.
• Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) offers quantitative methods to evaluate ventricular performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify ventricular function and dyssynchrony using TDI in patients with single ventricle physiology.
• To compare TDI-derived indexes between single ventricle patients and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Echocardiograms were performed on patients with single left ventricle, single right ventricle, and control groups.
• Measurements of free wall velocities (systolic and diastolic) and myocardial performance index were obtained at the atrioventricular annulus.
• Statistical analysis included one-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc adjustment.

Main Results:

• No significant age differences were observed between the groups.
• Patients with single right or left ventricles exhibited significantly lower peak systolic and diastolic annular velocities compared to controls.
• Single ventricle patients showed a higher myocardial performance index and interval to mechanical activation, indicating impaired function and potential dyssynchrony.

Conclusions:

• Tissue Doppler imaging demonstrates significant decreases in systolic and diastolic function in patients with single ventricle physiology.
• TDI reveals differences in dyssynchrony in single ventricle patients compared to controls.
• TDI is a valuable tool for quantifying ventricular function and dyssynchrony in single ventricle populations.