title: Myocardial deformation analysis in Chagas heart disease with the use of speckle tracking echocardiography.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assessment of myocardial deformation in Chagas disease may help us to better understand the disease pathophysiology and to detect early myocardial involvement. We aimed to characterize myocardial deformation in patients in different forms of Chagas disease and, specifically, assess differences between patients in the indeterminate form and controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Speckle tracking echocardiography was performed in 98 subjects (22 with Chagas cardiomyopathy, 32 in the indeterminate form, and 44 control subjects) to quantify global and segmental left ventricular (LV) radial strain (RS), circumferential strain (CS), and longitudinal strain (LS). In a subset of patients from the indeterminate and control groups (n = 25), LV peak systolic twist and untwisting velocities were additionally assessed. Global RS, CS, and LS showed a significant decreasing trend across groups. Patients in the indeterminate form had significantly lower global RS and RS in the midinferior segment (median 39.8% vs 49.3% [P = .046] and 44.0% vs 56.0% [P = .038], respectively) and lower twist and untwisting velocity (P < .05 for both) compared with control subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evaluation of myocardial deformation, particularly of RS, appears to be a sensitive technique for detection of myocardial involvement in patients in the indeterminate form and provides insights into the still unrevealed pathophysiology of Chagas heart involvement.
authors: Cardiology Department, Thorax Clinic Institute, Hospital Clínic, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: García-Álvarez
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Sitges
authors: Ander
authors: A
authors: Regueiro
authors: Silvia
authors: S
authors: Poyatos
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Jesus Pinazo
authors: Elisabeth
authors: E
authors: Posada
authors: Bart
authors: B
authors: Bijnens
authors: Magda
authors: M
authors: Heras
authors: Joaquim
authors: J
authors: Gascon
authors: Ginés
authors: G
authors: Sanz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013318:Stroke Volume; D014102:Torsion Abnormality; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult