Quantification of Left Ventricle Function in Stress Echocardiography Using Endocardial Area Centroid Trajectory

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Echocardiography

Background:

• Coronary artery occlusion impairs cardiac function, leading to left ventricular (LV) wall motion abnormalities.
• Stress echocardiography enhances the detection of these abnormalities by exaggerating wall motion dysfunction under induced cardiac stress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel parameter for measuring left ventricular (LV) function.
• To assess the utility of this parameter in differentiating between ischemic and normal hearts during stress echocardiography.

Main Methods:

• Development of a new parameter based on variations of endocardial borders during the cardiac cycle.
• Calculation of the parameter using standard stress echocardiography frames at various heart rates (HRs).

Main Results:

• The novel parameter demonstrated a significant difference between ischemic and normal hearts.
• LV function, as measured by the new parameter, showed distinct responses at different HRs.

Conclusions:

• Ischemic hearts exhibit impaired functional capacity, failing to meet increased activity demands at peak stress.
• The new parameter effectively quantifies LV function and aids in identifying cardiac ischemia during stress echocardiography.