title: Mechanical dyssynchrony and deformation imaging in patients with functional mitral regurgitation.
abstract: Chronic functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is a frequent finding of ischemic heart disease and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), associated with unfavourable prognosis. Several pathophysiologic mechanisms are involved in FMR, such as annular dilatation and dysfunction, left ventricle (LV) remodeling, dysfunction and dyssynchrony, papillary muscles displacement and dyssynchrony. The best therapeutic choice for FMR is still debated. When optimal medical treatment has already been set, a further option for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and/or surgical correction should be considered. CRT is able to contrast most of the pathophysiologic determinants of FMR by minimizing LV dyssynchrony through different mechanisms: Increasing closing forces, reducing tethering forces, reshaping annular geometry and function, correcting diastolic MR. Deformation imaging in terms of two-dimensional speckle tracking has been validated for LV dyssynchrony assessment. Radial speckle tracking and three-dimensional strain analysis appear to be the best methods to quantify intraventricular delay and to predict CRT-responders. Speckle-tracking echocardiography in patients with mitral valve regurgitation has been usually proposed for the assessment of LV and left atrial function. However it has also revealed a fundamental role of intraventricular dyssynchrony in determining FMR especially in DCM, rather than in ischemic cardiomyopathy in which MR severity seems to be more related to mitral valve deformation indexes. Furthermore speckle tracking allows the assessment of papillary muscle dyssynchrony. Therefore this technique can help to identify optimal candidates to CRT that will probably demonstrate a reduction in FMR degree and thus will experience a better outcome.
authors.affiliation: Isabella Rosa, Claudia Marini, Stefano Stella, Francesco Ancona, Marco Spartera, Alberto Margonato, Eustachio Agricola, Echocardiography Laboratory, San Raffaele Hospital, IRCCS, 20132 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.affiliation: Isabella Rosa, Claudia Marini, Stefano Stella, Francesco Ancona, Marco Spartera, Alberto Margonato, Eustachio Agricola, Echocardiography Laboratory, San Raffaele Hospital, IRCCS, 20132 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marini
authors.affiliation: Isabella Rosa, Claudia Marini, Stefano Stella, Francesco Ancona, Marco Spartera, Alberto Margonato, Eustachio Agricola, Echocardiography Laboratory, San Raffaele Hospital, IRCCS, 20132 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stella
authors.affiliation: Isabella Rosa, Claudia Marini, Stefano Stella, Francesco Ancona, Marco Spartera, Alberto Margonato, Eustachio Agricola, Echocardiography Laboratory, San Raffaele Hospital, IRCCS, 20132 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ancona
authors.affiliation: Isabella Rosa, Claudia Marini, Stefano Stella, Francesco Ancona, Marco Spartera, Alberto Margonato, Eustachio Agricola, Echocardiography Laboratory, San Raffaele Hospital, IRCCS, 20132 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spartera
authors.affiliation: Isabella Rosa, Claudia Marini, Stefano Stella, Francesco Ancona, Marco Spartera, Alberto Margonato, Eustachio Agricola, Echocardiography Laboratory, San Raffaele Hospital, IRCCS, 20132 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Margonato
authors.affiliation: Isabella Rosa, Claudia Marini, Stefano Stella, Francesco Ancona, Marco Spartera, Alberto Margonato, Eustachio Agricola, Echocardiography Laboratory, San Raffaele Hospital, IRCCS, 20132 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Eustachio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Agricola
keywords: 3D echocardiography; Deformation imaging; Mechanical dyssynchrony; Mitral regurgitation; Speckle tracking