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Updated: Dec 21, 2025
Evaluation of Left Ventricular Structure and Function using 3D Echocardiography
Published on: October 28, 2020
Evaluation of Cardiac Function in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease with Left Ventricular Global Longitudinal Strain
Marielle Morissens1, Tatiana Besse-Hammer2, Marie-Agnès Azerad3
1Cardiology Department, Internal Medicine, CHU Brugmann, Brussels, Belgium.
Insights
Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) was reduced in sickle cell disease (SCD) patients, indicating myocardial dysfunction. This speckle tracking echocardiography measure may aid in evaluating cardiac health in SCD, though its clinical impact requires further study.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Hematology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Myocardial dysfunction in sickle cell disease (SCD) is debated.
- Assessing cardiac function in SCD is challenging due to chronic overload.
- Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) offers a load-independent method for evaluating cardiac function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) is abnormal in adult SCD patients.
- To investigate correlations between LV-GLS and clinical or biological parameters in SCD.
- To assess the utility of STE in SCD cardiac assessment.
Main Methods:
- Prospective enrollment of 37 adult SCD patients and 34 healthy controls.
- Echocardiography, including STE, performed on all participants.
- Comparison of cardiac parameters between SCD patients and controls.
Main Results:
- SCD patients exhibited higher left ventricular diameter and mass compared to controls.
- Lower ejection fraction and longitudinal strain were observed in SCD patients.
- LV-GLS was abnormal in 21% of SCD patients; no correlation with clinical/biological parameters found.
Conclusions:
- LV-GLS may serve as a valuable tool for assessing cardiac function in SCD patients.
- The clinical significance of reduced LV-GLS in SCD needs further investigation.
- STE shows potential for early detection of cardiac changes in SCD.
Background And Objectives:
The importance of myocardial dysfunction in sickle cell disease (SCD) is currently debated. It is difficult to find a reliable index of function in patients with chronic overload as in SCD. Speckle tracking echocardiography, a new mean of evaluating cardiac function, might be a useful tool in SCD. It has been applied in many fields to detect early cardiac function deterioration, and it is less load dependent compared with other function parameters. Studies in patients with SCD are rare, and the results are conflicting. The present study aimed to determine whether left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) was abnormal in a population of adults with SCD and whether it was correlated with clinical or biological parameters.
Methods:
We prospectively enrolled 37 patients and 34 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Echocardiography was performed in patients and controls.
Results:
We found that the left ventricular diameter and mass were higher and the ejection fraction and longitudinal strain were lower in patients compared with controls. Diastolic dysfunction was uncommon. LV-GLS was abnormal in 21% of the patients. No correlation was observed between strain and clinical or biological parameters.
Conclusions:
We concluded that LV-GLS could be a useful tool for evaluating these patients. However, the clinical impact of reduced LV-GLS remains to be determined.
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