Regional myocardial function in healthy adults: assessment through tissue Doppler echocardiography.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize left ventricular regional myocardial function through tissue Doppler echocardiography in healthy adults and to assess the influence of aging in this function.


METHODS
In 45 healthy volunteers divided in two groups (< 45 and > 45 years old) we assessed longitudinal and radial regional function (velocities, times intervals and velocity-time integrals). Data were compared in each group and between groups.


RESULTS
Systolic function: a). longitudinal: higher velocities and integrals in lateral and inferior walls and in basal segments, with a trend to reduction of these parameters with aging; b). radial: higher basal velocities, no significant change with aging. Diastolic function: a). longitudinal: higher velocities in lateral and inferior walls and in basal segments. With aging e and e/a velocities and integrals decreased, a increased and older individuals showed lower percentage of segments with e/a >1; b). radial: aging was associated with lower e and higher a velocities.


CONCLUSIONS
1). Tissue Doppler echocardiography detects physiological differences between regional myocardial function of different ventricular segments, in velocities, times intervals and integrals, with physiological heterogeneity and asynchrony; 2). Many of these data are age dependent; 3). Our data contribute to define normal values, and may become useful when compared with data from populations with heart diseases.
Cardim
Nuno
N
Servi o de Cardiologia, Hospital Pulido Valente, Lisboa, Portugal. corclinica@clix.pt
Oliveira
Antônio Gouveia
AG
Longo
Susana
S
Ferreira
Teresa
T
Pereira
Amadeu
A
Reis
Roberto Palma
RP
Correia
João Martins
JM
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*