Evaluation of congenital left ventricular aneurysm in the fetus by velocity vector imaging.
We report a case of left ventricular aneurysm evaluated using the velocity vector imaging (VVI) technique, an angle-independent method used to calculate the tissue velocity strain and strain rate on routine gray scale two-dimensional images and display the velocities of endocardial points as vectors overlaid on B-mode images. It uses a combination of speckle tracking and complex geometric analysis, allowing tracing of myocardial activity throughout the cardiac cycle. In this case, evaluation of the myocardial dynamics in the fetus by VVI was started at 27 weeks of gestation, and both the systolic and diastolic velocities and the ejection fraction in the aneurysmal segment were less than in the other segments. VVI imaging at 35 weeks of gestation showed this difference even more clearly. Postnatal VVI examination showed no significant difference between results for the systolic and diastolic velocities or ejection fraction and those obtained at the prenatal VVI examination. VVI seemed to be as useful at this time, especially for assessing ventricular systolic function, as it was for postnatal examination.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan. shintaro@med.juntendo.ac.jp.
Shintaro
S
Makino
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
Toshitaka
T
Tanaka
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
Moe
M
Makita
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
Shigeru
S
Itoh
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
Satoru
S
Takeda
Congenital left ventricular aneurysm; Ultrasound; Velocity vector imaging