Cardiac mechanics evaluated by speckle tracking echocardiography.
Natural myocardial markers, or speckles, originated from constructive and destructive interference of ultrasound in the tissues may provide early diagnosis of myocardial changes and be used in the prediction of some cardiac events. Due to its relatively temporal stability, speckles can be tracked by dedicated software along the cardiac cycle, enabling the analysis of the systolic and diastolic function. They are identified by either conventional 2D grey scale and by 3D echo, conferring independence of the insonation angle, thus allowing assessment of cardiac mechanics in the three spatial planes: longitudinal, circumferential, and radial. The purposes of the present paper are: to discuss the role and the meaning of cardiac strain obtained by speckle tracking during the evaluation of cardiac physiology and to discuss clinical applications of this novel echocardiographic technology.
Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Maria Cristina Donadio
MC
Abduch
Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Adriano Mesquita
AM
Alencar
Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Wilson
W
Mathias
Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Marcelo Luiz de Campos
ML
Vieira
D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008488:Medical Illustration; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016276:Ventricular Function / Q000502:physiology