Left ventricular rotational characteristics in healthy mid-term pregnancy—insights from the three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiographic MAGYAR-Preg Study

Left Ventricular Longitudinal Strain Is Associated with Ascending Aortic Diameters in Healthy Adults—A Detailed Single-Center Retrospective Analysis from the Three-Dimensional Speckle-Tracking Echocardiographic MAGYAR-Healthy Study

Even in the absence of cardiovascular pathology, a finely tuned interaction can be observed between regional LV deformation, especially with LV-LS and the size of the ascending aorta in healthy individuals.

Fetal growth restriction is associated with increased mechanical dyssynchrony and right-ventricular remodeling: a 2D speckle-tracking analysis

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to evaluate predefined two-dimensional speckle-tracking parameters (2D-STE) to distinguish between growth-restricted fetuses (FGR) and healthy controls (FC) and to identify novel parameters using an exploratory approach. Methods The study comprised 112 fetuses, 56 in the FGR cohort and 56 gestational-age-matched healthy fetuses in the FC cohort. We analyzed global longitudinal strain (GLS), as well as segmental strain, displacement, and velocity using 2D Cardiac Performance Analysis software. Dyssynchrony (DYS) was calculated as the difference in time to peak of GLS or segmental parameters inter- and intraventricular. We also measured changes in ventricular length, diameter and area. Additionally, we tested a prototype software with a tracked M-mode approach, which measured annular displacement. Results Dyssynchrony parameters were generally higher in the FGR cohort than in the FC cohort. Particularly the GLS-DYS was noticeably higher in the FGR cohort than in the FC cohort (median 19.85 vs. 8.40 ms; p<0.001). Also strain-dyssynchrony, displacement- and velocity-dyssynchrony were increased. FGR fetuses showed right ventricular alterations with lower RV-GLS and reduced longitudinal shortening and area change (25.58 vs. 22.06; p=0.040; 0.75 vs. 0.78; p=0.015; 0.58 vs. 0.67; p=0.024), while LV-GLS and LV-geometry did not differ noticeably. The prototype software did not sufficiently discriminate between groups. Conclusions FGR was associated with higher cardiac dyssynchrony and altered right-ventricular function and geometry. GLS-based dyssynchrony may complement Doppler for risk stratification and monitoring in suspected placental insufficiency. These results should be considered in the context of the limited sample size. Prospective studies with larger cohorts should validate these parameters and establish standardized reference values.

Is There a Relationship Between Aortic Valve Annular Plane Systolic Excursion and Left Ventricular Rotational Mechanics in Healthy Adults? Insights from the MAGYAR-Healthy Study

There are no significant correlations between AAPSE and LV rotational parameters, but the trends observed in subgroup analyses could serve as hypothesis-generating observations for future studies.

Left ventricular systolic dysfunction detected by speckle tracking in hypertensive patients with preserved ejection fraction (cid:2)

Relationships Between Regional Left Ventricular Myocardial Strain and Tissue Characteristics in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Both fibrosis and hypertrophy contribute to abnormal myocardial mechanics in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). We sought to assess the relationships between regional structural and functional parameters in HCM by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). This was a retrospective single-center study of HCM patients and age-matched controls with either hypertensive heart disease (HHD) or normal CMRs. CMR feature tracking was performed to assess global and segmental 2D-radial, circumferential, and longitudinal LV strain, while native and post-contrast T1 parametric mapping analysis was performed to assess the global and regional T1 values and ECV fraction. Of 100 patients (age 56 ± 15 years; 66% male), 62 were in the HCM group and 38 in the control group (19 healthy individuals and 19 with HHD). Compared to the control group, global circumferential strain (−16.1 ± 5.9% vs. −20.8 ± 3.6%, p < 0.001) and radial strain (45.2 ± 14.1% vs. 32.1 ± 14.0%, p < 0.001) were worse in the HCM group. Among the HCM patients, there were significant correlations between segmental native T1 values at the most hypertrophied segment and global longitudinal strain (r = 0.27, p = 0.031), global circumferential strain (r = 0.34, p = 0.006), global radial strain (r = −0.29, p = 0.024), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (r = −0.31, p = 0.014). In HCM, higher myocardial T1 at the most hypertrophied segment correlated with worse global LV myocardial strain and LVEF by CMR.

Quantitative assessment of systolic and diastolic left ventricular energy loss using vector flow mapping in healthy participants: a retrospective observational study

VFM-derived EL exhibits age-related, phase-dependent changes characterized by a selective increase in systolic EL and altered phase distribution in healthy participants, indicating that age-related differences in EL persisted after normalization.