Echocardiographic assessment of myocardial strain.

Echocardiographic strain imaging, also known as deformation imaging, has been developed as a means to objectively quantify regional myocardial function. First introduced as post-processing of tissue Doppler imaging velocity converted to strain and strain rate, strain imaging has more recently also been derived from digital speckle tracking analysis. Strain imaging has been used to gain greater understanding into the pathophysiology of cardiac ischemia and infarction, primary diseases of the myocardium, and the effects of valvular disease on myocardial function, and to advance our understanding of diastolic function. Strain imaging has also been used to quantify abnormalities in the timing of mechanical activation for heart failure patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization pacing therapy. Further advances, such as 3-dimensional speckle tracking strain imaging, have emerged to provide even greater insight. Strain imaging has become established as a robust research tool and has great potential to play many roles in routine clinical practice to advance the care of the cardiovascular patient. This perspective reviews the physiology of myocardial strain, the technical features of strain imaging using tissue Doppler imaging and speckle tracking, their strengths and weaknesses, and the state-of-the-art present and potential future clinical applications.

Utility of comprehensive assessment of strain dyssynchrony index by speckle tracking imaging for predicting response to cardiac resynchronization therapy.

The strain delay index is reportedly a marker of dyssynchrony and residual myocardial contractility. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that a relatively simple version of the strain dyssynchrony index (SDI) can predict response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and that combining assessment of radial, circumferential, and longitudinal SDI can further improve the prediction of responders. A total of 52 patients who underwent CRT were studied. The SDI was calculated as the average difference between peak and end-systolic strain from 6 segments for radial and circumferential SDI and 18 segments for longitudinal SDI. Conventional dyssynchrony measures were assessed by interventricular mechanical delay, the Yu index, and radial dyssynchrony by speckle tracking strain. Response was defined as a ≥15% decrease in end-systolic volume after 3 months. Of the individual parameters, radial SDI ≥6.5% was the best predictor of response to CRT, with sensitivity of 81%, specificity of 81%, and an area under the curve of 0.87 (p <0.001). Circumferential SDI ≥3.2% and longitudinal SDI ≥3.6% were also found to be predictive of response to CRT, with areas under the curve of 0.81 and 0.80, respectively (p <0.001). Moreover, radial, circumferential, and longitudinal SDI at baseline were correlated with reduction of end-systolic volume with CRT. In addition, the response rate in patients with 3 positive SDIs was 100%. In contrast, rates in patients with either 1 or no positive SDIs were 42% and 22%, respectively (p <0.005 and p <0.001 vs 3 positive SDIs). In conclusion, the SDI can successfully predict response to CRT, and the combined approach leads to more accurate prediction than using individual parameters.

Assessment of cardiac function during mechanical circulatory support: the quest for a suitable clinical index.

A new index to assess left ventricular (LV) function in patients implanted with continuous flow left-ventricular assist devices (LVADs) is proposed. Derived from the pump flow signal, this index is defined as the coefficient (k) of the semilogarithmic relationship between "pseudo-ejection" fraction (pEF) and the volume discharged by the pump in diastole, (V d). pEF is defined as the ratio of the "pseudo-stroke volume" (pSV) to V d. The pseudo-stroke volume is the difference between V d and the volume discharged by the pump in systole (V s), both obtained by integrating pump flow with respect to time in a cardiac cycle. k was compared in-vivo with others two indices: the LV pressure-based index, M(TP), and the pump flow-based index, I(Q). M(TP) is the slope of the linear regression between the "triple-product" and end-diastolic pressure, EDP. The triple-product, TP = LV SP.dP/dt(max). HR, is the product of LV systolic pressure, maximum time-derivative of LV pressure, and heart rate. I(Q) is the slope of the linear regression between maximum time-derivative of pump flow, dQ/dt(max), and pump flow peak-to-peak amplitude variation, Q(P2P). To test the response of k to contractile state changes, contractility was altered through pharmacological interventions. The absolute value of k decreased from 1.354 ± 0.25 (baseline) to 0.685 ± 0.21 after esmolol infusion. The proposed index is sensitive to changes in inotropic state, and has the potential to be used clinically to assess contractile function of patients implanted with VAD.

Echocardiography, dyssynchrony, and the response to cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Biventricular pacing or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been a considerable advance in the therapy of chronic heart failure. However, it is clear that not all patients benefit either in terms of symptoms or cardiac function, and some may be worsened by CRT. In this review, we consider the arguments, both clinical and economical, in favour of improved selection of patients for CRT other than those in current guidelines. It also seems clear that the fundamental mechanism of CRT is correction of dyssynchrony, and we review the various methodologies available to detect dyssynchrony. Other factors are probably also important in determining outcomes such as lead position, the extent and form of myocardial damage, optimizing pacemaker performance, and clinical expertise. The potential costs of inappropriate CRT implantation are high to our patients and to the health economy, and it behooves the cardiology community to develop better selection criteria. The current guidelines can and should be improved.

Echocardiographic assessment of ventricular dyssynchrony.

Although cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been of unquestioned therapeutic benefit to many patients with heart failure identified by a widened QRS complex on an electrocardiogram, many patients do not respond favorably. Several studies using echocardiographic methods to measure abnormalities of mechanical activation, known as dyssynchrony, have been proposed to improve patient selection for CRT. Many single-center studies from institutions with special expertise have demonstrated the feasibility of echocardiographic dyssynchrony to potentially assist with patient selection. However, the PROSPECT trial, a recent large multicenter study, highlighted the technical challenges in echocardiographic dyssynchrony analysis in mainstream clinical practice. Accordingly, a uniform clinical approach has not been established, and refinements of echocardiographic approaches and methods are constantly evolving. This article reviews current echocardiographic methods to quantify ventricular dyssynchrony, their strengths and limitations, and the proposed and potential expanding clinical applications.

Non-invasive assessment of myocardial recovery on chronic left ventricular assist device: results associated with successful device removal.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial recovery may occur in patients with heart failure who are receiving left ventricular assist-device support, but identification of candidates for device removal remains challenging. We hypothesized that on-line quantitative echocardiography during trials of decreased device support alone or in combination with exercise cardiopulmonary testing can assess cardiac recovery to predict successful device removal. METHODS: We studied 18 patients with severe heart failure, aged 45 +/- 19 years, who received 234 +/- 169 days of assist-device support as a bridge to transplantation. We used echocardiographic automated border detection from mid-ventricular short-axis images and non-invasive arterial pressure to measure beat-to-beat responses in 2 to 5 minute trials of decreased device flow. We also assessed maximal oxygen consumption in 14 patients who could exercise. RESULTS: Six patients experienced myocardial recovery and underwent successful device removal; 12 remained device dependent. With transient, low assist-device flow, patients with device removal had increased echocardiographic stroke area of 27% +/- 36% vs -24% +/- 12% (p < 0.05) and fractional area change of 51% +/- 13% vs 23% +/- 11% (p < 0.05) in the patients who were device dependent. Estimates of pre-load-adjusted maximal power, a relatively load-independent index, were 6.7 +/- 2.1 mW/cm(4) in patients with successful device removal vs 1.2 +/- 1.2 mW/cm(4) in patients who were device dependent (p < 0.005). Maximal oxygen consumption was 17.2 +/- 1.4 ml/kg/min in patients with myocardial recovery vs 13.1 +/- 1.9 ml/kg/min in patients who were device dependent (p < 0.005) and correlated with pre-load-adjusted maximal power (r = 0.89, p < 0.001). Maximal oxygen consumption >16 ml/kg/min, increased stroke area, >40% increase in fractional area change, or pre-load-adjusted maximal power >4.0 mW/cm(4) with low device flow were associated with successful device removal (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: On-line quantitative echocardiography alone or combined with exercise cardiopulmonary testing can assess myocardial recovery of patients receiving left ventricular assist-device support and has the potential to identify patients who are clinical candidates for device removal.

Second-generation tissue Doppler with angle-corrected color-coded wall displacement for quantitative assessment of regional left ventricular function.

To test the hypothesis that a new tissue Doppler (TD) approach using angle-correction and transformation of velocity data to color-coded displacement data may objectively quantify regional left ventricular function, in vitro experiments were first performed with an oscillating echo target precisely controlled by a microstepping motor. Displacement varied from 1 to 15 mm (60 to 130 cycles/min) at angles of 0 degrees and 45 degrees to the echo transducer. Custom software transformed TD data to displacement data. Sixty-five subjects were then studied: 35 with wall motion abnormalities and 30 normal controls. Results were compared with independent visual assessment and caliper measurements of endocardial excursion from gray-scale images. In vitro displacement imaging strongly correlated with true displacement (r = 0.99, p <0.0001). In humans, peak transmural displacement discriminated normal results (6.3 +/- 3.2 mm) from hypokinesia (2.7 +/- 1.8 mm, p <0.05), akinesia (0.4 +/- 1.2 mm, p <0.05) from hypokinesia, and dyskinesia (-1.9 +/- 1.2 mm, p <0.05) from akinesia. Normal subendocardial displacement was 5.9 +/- 2.9 versus 4.0 +/- 3.9 mm in the epicardial layer (p <0.01). This displacement gradient was absent in abnormal segments. Displacement data correlated with endocardial excursion by calipers (parasternal views: r = 0.86, all views: r = 0.79, both p <0.0001). Overall accuracy of displacement imaging was 82% (kappa = 0.71) versus 66% (kappa = 0.43) for visual assessment with caliper data as the standard of reference. Angle-corrected displacement imaging was superior to routine visual assessment and is a promising new method to quantify regional left ventricular function.

Assessment of Left Ventricular Systolic Function Using Color-Coded Tissue Doppler Echocardiography.

Tissue Doppler echocardiography can be used to measure myocardial velocity data by using the Doppler shift data of ultrasound waves. Two methods have recently been described to calculate velocity data: pulsed tissue Doppler and color-coded tissue Doppler. This article focuses on color-coded tissue Doppler data to evaluate left ventricular systolic function. Technical considerations and validation studies are reviewed. Potential clinical applications of color-coded tissue Doppler are presented, including dobutamine stress echocardiography, assessment of left ventricular ejection dynamics using mitral annular velocity, and tissue Doppler assessment of cardiac transplant rejection.