Left ventricular deformation and two-dimensional echocardiography: temporal and other parameter values in normal...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Echocardiography

Background:

• Quantitative assessment of segmental contractility is crucial for evaluating heart function.
• Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) offers a novel method for analyzing myocardial deformation (strain) and strain rate.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine typical strain and strain rate values in a healthy adult population.
• To assess the reproducibility of these measurements using 2D-STE with velocity vector imaging.

Main Methods:

• 105 healthy individuals (55% women, mean age 38.8 years) underwent 2D-STE with velocity vector imaging.
• Circumferential and longitudinal strain, strain rate, and time-to-peak (TPN) were quantified for each myocardial segment.
• Intra- and inter-observer variability were analyzed to assess reproducibility.

Main Results:

• Mean circumferential strain: 22.2 ± 4.81% (TPN 0.39 ± 0.06).
• Mean longitudinal strain: 19.84 ± 4.59% (TPN 0.42 ± 0.06).
• Mean circumferential strain rate: 1.64 ± 0.48 1/s (TPN 0.23 ± 0.06).
• Mean longitudinal strain rate: 1.3 ± 0.49 1/s (TPN 0.21 ± 0.09).
• Moderate intra- and inter-observer variability was observed.

Conclusions:

• This study provides normative data for myocardial strain and strain rate parameters derived from 2D-STE in healthy adults.
• The established reference values are valuable for clinical interpretation and diagnosis of cardiac conditions.
• Moderate reproducibility suggests careful application and consideration of observer variability in clinical practice.