title: 2D speckle tracking echocardiography for the assessment of regional contractile reserve after myocardial infarction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether quantitative resting assessment of local myocardial function by 2D speckle tracking echocardiography may be helpful for the evaluation of myocardial viability in patients after ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and for the prediction of left ventricular function recovery after 12-month follow-up.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group comprised 96 patients with first STEMI treated with successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Seven to 12 days after STEMI, all patients underwent resting echocardiography and low-dose dobutamine stress echocardiography (LDDSE) with visual assessment of contractile reserve which was the reference method for the evaluation of myocardial viability. After 12 months resting echocardiography with visual assessment of functional recovery was performed. Subsequently, acquired images were analyzed off-line using 2D speckle tracking echocardiography algorithm. Measurements included peak systolic longitudinal and transverse strain (SLS/STS), peak longitudinal and transverse strain (PLS/PTS), systolic longitudinal and transverse strain rate (SLSR/STSR) at baseline and after 12 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All analyzed longitudinal parameters of strain had a very good diagnostic value, while transverse parameters had only good diagnostic value for predicting myocardial viability defined on the basis of LDDSE. Moreover, SLS and PLS had good, whereas SLSR only satisfactory diagnostic value for predicting function recovery after 12-month follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  2D speckle tracking analysis applied during resting echocardiography can be helpful for the prediction of myocardial viability and functional recovery in patients after STEMI. Longitudinal strain parameters allow the prediction of local contractile reserve with SLS showing best correlation with DSE results functional recovery after 12-month follow-up.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Cardiology, Medical University of Lodz bDepartment of Radiology, Barlicki Teaching Hospital, Medical University of Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Szymczyk
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lipiec
authors.forename: Błażej
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Michalski
authors.forename: Konrad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Szymczyk
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Bartłomiej
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Woźniakowski
authors.forename: Arkadiusz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rotkiewicz
authors.forename: Ludomir
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stefańczyk
authors.forename: Jarosław D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kasprzak
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020127:Recovery of Function