Evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function using color kinesis.

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Echocardiography

Background:

• Color kinesis (CK) is a real-time echocardiographic technique for assessing endocardial motion.
• Evaluating left ventricular (LV) diastolic function traditionally relies on Doppler echocardiography.
• Objective assessment of diastolic function remains an area for technological advancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the feasibility and usefulness of diastolic CK images with ICK software.
• To objectively assess global and regional LV diastolic function using CK.
• To compare diastolic properties from CK images with conventional Doppler echocardiographic indices.

Main Methods:

• 56 subjects were evaluated, categorized into impaired relaxation, pseudonormal, and restrictive diastolic dysfunction groups, plus a normal control group.
• Conventional Doppler echocardiography measured mitral inflow velocities (E, A), E/A ratio, deceleration time (DT), and tissue Doppler-derived early diastolic mitral annular velocity (Ea).
• Diastolic CK images were analyzed using ICK software to calculate the mean CK-diastolic index (CK-DI), representing LV segmental expansion during early diastole.

Main Results:

• No significant correlation was found between mean CK-DI and rapid-filling fraction (r = -0.092, P > 0.2).
• Mean CK-DI was significantly lower in the restrictive group (34.2% ± 4.3%) compared to normal (70.6% ± 7.4%), impaired relaxation (50.5% ± 7.7%), and pseudonormal (42.3% ± 7.5%) groups.
• A reduction in mean CK-DI correlated with the progression of LV diastolic dysfunction.

Conclusions:

• Analysis of diastolic CK using ICK software is a feasible and useful technique.
• This method allows for quantitative evaluation of global LV diastolic function.
• CK-DI serves as a valuable objective parameter for assessing diastolic dysfunction severity.