title: An overview of stress echocardiography in the study of patients with dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
abstract: Stress echocardiography is a useful noninvasive modality for measuring dynamic outflow gradient and contractility changes in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). In patients with HCM, stress echocardiography may determine the degree of outflow tract obstruction at rest and with activity, can detect occult systolic dysfunction in symptomatic patients with a normal resting left ventricular ejection fraction, and can also be utilized to monitor the efficacy of treatment. In individuals suffering from DCM, stress echocardiography is an important aid in the evaluation of the etiology, diagnosis, and prognosis of the disease as well as the functional status of the patient during either exercise or simulated stress conditions. Dobutamine stress echocardiography, by providing a measurement of the myocardial reserve, is a useful tool to predict the systolic recovery and clinical outcome of patients with heart failure. The stress-induced change in the wall motion score index can also be used as an accurate alternative to predict the peak oxygen consumption rate and exercise capacity of the same patient population. Finally, stress echocardiography has also been used in the identification of the predilated phase of cardiomyopathy in individuals with high clinical suspicion of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Providence VA Medical Center, and The Miriam Hospital, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island 02908, USA. wen-chih_wu@brown.edu
authors.forename: Wen-Chih
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Janak H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Bhavsar
authors.forename: George F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Aziz
authors.forename: Ara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sadaniantz
mesh_terms: D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002312:Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D025401:Echocardiography, Stress; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D009200:Myocardial Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology