Added clinical value of applying myocardial deformation imaging to assess right ventricular function.
Right heart dysfunction has been found to be a strong prognostic factor predicting adverse outcome in various cardiopulmonary diseases. Conventional echocardiographic measurements can be limited by geometrical assumptions and impaired reproducibility. Speckle tracking-derived strain provides a robust quantification of right ventricular function. It explicitly evaluates myocardial deformation, as opposed to tissue Doppler-derived strain, which is computed from tissue velocity gradients. Right ventricular longitudinal strain provides a sensitive tool for detecting right ventricular dysfunction, even at subclinical levels. Moreover, the longitudinal strain can be applied for prognostic stratification of patients with pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary embolism, and congestive heart failure. Speckle tracking-derived right atrial strain, right ventricular longitudinal strain-derived mechanical dyssynchrony, and three-dimensional echocardiography-derived strain are emerging imaging parameters and methods. Their application in research is paving the way for their clinical use.
Department of General and Interventional Cardiology, University Heart Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Vladislavs
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9550-1953
V
Sokalskis
Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, Ospedale dell'Angelo, Venice Mestre, Italy.
Diletta
D
Peluso
Department of General and Interventional Cardiology, University Heart Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Annika
A
Jagodzinski
Department of General and Interventional Cardiology, University Heart Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Christoph
C
Sinning
D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018497:Ventricular Dysfunction, Right / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology
arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia; pulmonary hypertension; right ventricle; strain