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Updated: Mar 19, 2026
Echocardiographic Assessment of Cardiac Anatomy and Function in Adult Rats
Published on: December 13, 2019
How should we measure global and regional left ventricular systolic function?
Anders Sahlen1, Reidar Winter2
1Department of Cardiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, 141 86, Stockholm, Sweden.
Insights
Echocardiography assesses left ventricular (LV) systolic function, commonly using ejection fraction (EF). Advanced techniques like deformation analysis offer complementary insights for heart failure diagnosis when EF is normal.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Echocardiography
Background:
- Left ventricular (LV) systolic function assessment is crucial in echocardiography.
- LV ejection fraction (EF) is the primary metric but has limitations.
- Alternative measures are needed for patients with suspected heart failure and normal EF.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore additional echocardiographic methods for assessing LV systolic function.
- To evaluate the utility of alternative measures beyond EF.
- To investigate techniques for detecting subtle or regional LV dysfunction.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing M-mode and deformation analysis (tissue Doppler, speckle tracking) for longitudinal function.
- Employing contrast echocardiography to enhance LV endocardial border delineation.
- Assessing regional wall motion abnormalities.
Main Results:
- Longitudinal function measurements provide valuable information, especially in heart failure with preserved EF.
- Contrast echocardiography improves detection of LV wall motion abnormalities.
- Deformation analysis aids in identifying subtle abnormalities but requires careful application due to variability.
Conclusions:
- While EF is standard, other echocardiographic parameters offer critical supplementary data.
- Advanced imaging techniques can enhance the detection of LV dysfunction.
- Careful consideration of measurement variability is essential when using deformation analysis.
Abstract:
The assessment of left ventricular (LV) systolic function is frequently the most important task during the echocardiography examination. LV ejection fraction (EF) is the most commonly used measure to assess LV systolic function. EF is well established, with strong prognostic and therapeutic implications, but, nevertheless, it may not always be satisfactory in all patients. Other measures of myocardial contractility can provide valuable additive information in some patients. This is particularly true in patients with suspected heart failure but normal EF. The measurement of longitudinal function using M-mode and/or deformation analysis from tissue Doppler data or speckle tracking algorithms can be useful in this respect. Regional LV dysfunction can be difficult to detect using visual semi-quantitative assessment of regional wall motion. Contrast echocardiography can be most helpful in delineating the LV endocardial border and, thus, increasing sensitivity for detecting wall motion abnormalities. Deformation analysis can also be helpful for detecting subtle wall motion abnormalities, but these methods should be used with caution due to measurement variability and image quality dependence.
