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Early Diagnosis of Cardiovascular Diseases in Workers: Role of Standard and Advanced Echocardiography
Lidia Capotosto1, Francesco Massoni1, Simone De Sio1
1Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Insights
Early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is crucial. Advanced echocardiography techniques show promise for detecting subtle cardiac dysfunction, aiding in secondary prevention strategies for CVD.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Preventive Medicine
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death, necessitating early detection.
- Occupational factors represent an underappreciated risk for CVD, requiring multi-faceted assessment.
- Standard echocardiography assesses cardiac function, valves, and hemodynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current applications of standard and advanced echocardiography in the early detection of CVD.
- To explore the role of novel echocardiographic techniques in identifying subclinical myocardial dysfunction.
- To discuss future directions for echocardiography in CVD secondary prevention.
Main Methods:
- Review of standard echocardiography for myocardial performance, valvular/congenital heart disease, and hemodynamics.
- Evaluation of three-dimensional echocardiography (3D) for assessing left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) function, volume, and shape.
- Analysis of two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE) and 3DSTE for detecting global and regional myocardial dysfunction.
Main Results:
- Standard echocardiography is a cornerstone in cardiac assessment.
- 3D echocardiography offers advanced insights into LV and RV mechanics.
- 2DSTE and 3DSTE show potential for diagnosing subtle LV and RV dysfunction, though challenges in interpretation exist.
Conclusions:
- Advanced echocardiography modalities are evolving for early CVD detection.
- Despite challenges, novel techniques enhance understanding of cardiac mechanics for secondary prevention.
- Further research is needed to optimize the clinical utility of advanced echocardiography in CVD diagnosis.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) still remains the main cause of morbidity and mortality and consequently early diagnosis is of paramount importance. Working conditions can be regarded as an additional risk factor for CVD. Since different aspects of the job may affect vascular health differently, it is important to consider occupation from multiple perspectives to better assess occupational impacts on health. Standard echocardiography has several targets in the cardiac population, as the assessment of myocardial performance, valvular and/or congenital heart disease, and hemodynamics. Three-dimensional echocardiography gained attention recently as a viable clinical tool in assessing left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) function, volume, and shape. Two-dimensional (2DSTE) and, more recently, three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3DSTE) have also emerged as methods for detection of global and regional myocardial dysfunction in various cardiovascular diseases and applied to the diagnosis of subtle LV and RV dysfunction. Although these novel echocardiographic imaging modalities have advanced our understanding of LV and RV mechanics, overlapping patterns often show challenges that limit their clinical utility. This review will describe the current state of standard and advanced echocardiography in early detection (secondary prevention) of CVD and address future directions for this potentially important diagnostic strategy.
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