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Updated: Mar 19, 2026

Transthoracic Speckle Tracking Echocardiography for the Quantitative Assessment of Left Ventricular Myocardial Deformation
Published on: October 20, 2016
Global longitudinal strain by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging predicts exercise capacity in patients with
Seisyou Kou1, Kengo Suzuki2, Yoshihiro J Akashi2
1Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, 2-16-1 Sugao, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 216-8511, Japan. s3ko@marianna-u.ac.jp.
Background:
Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) predicts mortality in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). However, a weak correlation was found between LVEF and peak oxygen uptake ([Formula: see text]) in CHF patients. Global longitudinal strain measured by two-dimensional (2D) strain is regarded as a more useful predictor of cardiac events than LVEF. We investigated whether 2D strain obtained at rest could predict peak [Formula: see text] in patients with CHF.
Methods:
Fifty-one patients (mean age of 54.0 ± 12.0 years, 14 females, LVEF 46.0 ± 15.0%) with stable CHF underwent resting echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Leg muscle strength was measured for the evaluation of peripheral factors. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) in the apical 4-, 3-, and 2-chamber views and global circumferential strain (GCS) in the parasternal mid short-axis view were measured.
Results:
In all patients, peak [Formula: see text] correlated with leg muscle strength (r = 0.55, p < 0.0001), LVEF (r = 0.46, p < 0.001), GLS (r = -0.45, p < 0.001), and GCS (r = -0.41, p = 0.005), respectively. No significant correlation was found between the ratio of early transmitral velocity to peak early diastolic mitral annulus velocity (E/E') and peak [Formula: see text]. In the patients with heart failure and reduced LVEF, a multiple stepwise linear regression analysis based on leg muscle strength, LVEF, E/E', GLS, and GCS was performed to identify independent predictors of peak [Formula: see text], resulting in leg muscle strength and GLS (R (2) = 0.888) as independent predictors of peak [Formula: see text].
Conclusion:
Global longitudinal strain at rest could possibly predict exercise capacity, which appeared to be more useful than LVEF, E/E', and GCS in CHF patients with reduced LVEF.
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