Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular systolic function

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Echocardiography
• Cardiac Physiology

Background:

• Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is the standard measure of systolic function.
• LVEF guides therapeutic trials and treatment recommendations in cardiology.
• LVEF has limitations, including reproducibility and detection of dysfunction in remodeled hearts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) in assessing LV systolic function.
• To highlight STE as a complementary method to LVEF.
• To discuss the advantages of STE over LVEF in specific clinical scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on echocardiography and LV systolic function assessment.
• Focus on speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) for global longitudinal strain (GLS) analysis.
• Comparison of STE-derived GLS with LVEF in various cardiac conditions.

Main Results:

• Global longitudinal strain (GLS) by STE is a sensitive and feasible method for LV systolic function assessment.
• STE overcomes LVEF limitations, particularly in reproducibility and detecting dysfunction in remodeled hearts.
• STE provides complementary information to LVEF for a comprehensive functional evaluation.

Conclusions:

• Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a valuable tool for assessing left ventricular (LV) systolic function.
• STE serves as an effective complementary method to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).
• The integration of STE enhances the diagnostic capabilities in cardiovascular imaging.