Evaluation of Left Ventricular Systolic Function Using Layer-Specific Strain in Rats Performing Endurance Exercise: A...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Exercise Physiology
• Echocardiography

Background:

• Exercise can induce myocardial hypertrophy, a complex adaptation.
• Subtle cardiac changes may occur before overt pathology.
• Ultrasound strain imaging offers advanced assessment of cardiac function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate subclinical cardiac changes in rats after endurance exercise.
• To evaluate the utility of ultrasound layered strain technique in detecting exercise-induced cardiac adaptations.
• To determine the predictive value of strain parameters for left ventricular systolic function.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a rat model with 20 exercise and 20 control Sprague-Dawley rats.
• Employed ultrasound layered strain technique to measure longitudinal and circumferential strain.
• Analyzed differences between groups and the predictive effect on left ventricular systolic function.

Main Results:

• Exercise group showed significantly higher global endocardial longitudinal strain (GLSendo), global mid-myocardial longitudinal strain (GLSmid), and global endocardial circumferential strain (GCSendo).
• GLSendo demonstrated high predictive accuracy (AUC 0.97, 95% sensitivity, 90% specificity) for left ventricular contractile performance.
• Conventional echocardiography parameters correlated well with key strain parameters.

Conclusions:

• Endurance exercise induces subclinical cardiac alterations in rats.
• Global endocardial longitudinal strain (GLSendo) is a crucial parameter for assessing left ventricular systolic performance in exercising rats.