Importance of three-dimensional speckle tracking in the assessment of left atrial and ventricular dysfunction in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a multisystem disease in which cardiac involvement is common. The aim of this study was to identify early changes in left atrial (LA) mechanics and left ventricular (LV) systolic function in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 using three-dimensional (3D) speckle tracking echocardiography (3D-STE). METHODS: This observational study included 25 patients with DM1 and 25 healthy volunteers. We assessed LA and LV global strain parameters using 3D-STE. RESULTS: Patients with DM1 showed significantly lower longitudinal LA strain (22.85%±5.06 vs. 26.82%±5.15; p=0.008 in univariate analysis and p=0.026 in multivariate analysis) and global LV longitudinal strain (-13.55%±1.82 vs. -16.11%±1.33; p<0.001 in univariate analysis and p<0.001 in multivariate analysis), which was not observed with LA area tracking (p=0.412) or LV global circumferential strain (p=0.879), global radial strain (p=0.058), area tracking (p=0.092) or twist (p=0.992). CONCLUSION: LA and LV global longitudinal strain is significantly decreased in patients with DM1, which may be an early marker of subclinical dysfunction in these patients.