[Systolic and diastolic intraventricular asynchrony of the left ventricular myocardium in patients with pacemaker]

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Cardiac Electrophysiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Intraventricular asynchrony is a concern in patients with cardiac rhythm and conduction disorders.
• Pacemaker implantation is a common treatment for such conditions, but its effect on myocardial asynchrony requires detailed study.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate intraventricular asynchrony in patients with arrhythmias.
• To evaluate the impact of pacemaker implantation on the severity of systolic and diastolic asynchrony.

Main Methods:

• Echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging (PWTDI) were performed on 46 patients before and 7 days after pacemaker implantation.
• Intraventricular heterogeneity indices (IHb, IHm, TSD) assessed electromechanical systolic and diastolic asynchrony in 8 left ventricular segments.
• Data from 32 healthy volunteers served as the normal reference range.

Main Results:

• Patients with cardiac arrhythmia exhibited significantly different systolic and diastolic asynchrony parameters compared to healthy controls.
• Pacemaker implantation led to a significant reduction in left ventricular systolic asynchrony.
• Diastolic asynchrony remained largely unaffected in the early postoperative period.
• The TsSD index demonstrated the highest sensitivity for detecting systolic asynchrony.

Conclusions:

• Systolic asynchrony parameters, specifically TsSD, IhbS, and IhmS, are effective for monitoring cardiac function after pacemaker implantation.
• The findings suggest that pacemaker therapy primarily benefits systolic function concerning asynchrony.