Assessment of left ventricular contractility in acute inferior wall myocardial infarction by speckle tracking echocardiography

Abstract

Aim: to assess the results of speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) in patients of working age with acute inferior wall myocardial infarction (MI) in the early period after coronary stenting. Patients and Methods: STE was performed using EPIQ-7 Ultrasound Machine (Philips, USA) in 55 patients with acute inferior wall MI one week after percutaneous coronary intervention and 29 healthy individuals of working age. Patients with acute inferior wall MI were divided into two subgroups, i.e., with (n=45) or without (n=10) areas of local contractile impairment (dyskinesia, akinesia, hypokinesia). Results: the most common cause of MI was the occlusion of the right coronary artery (82.4% in subgroup 1 and 60% in subgroup 2) in multivascular involvement (84.4% and 90%. respectively). In patients with local contractile impairment, reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) was reported in 28.9%, global longitudinal strain in 86.7%, and global circular strain in 76.7%. Meanwhile, in patients without local contractile impairment, left ventricular ejection fraction (LV EF) was within normal ranges, global longitudinal strain was reported in 100% and global circumferential strain in 70%. The presence and severity of local dysfunction did not affect the reduction in segmental strain (median varied from -9% to -15%). In inferior wall MI, the abnormal regional longitudinal strain of 6 LV segments (basal and mid inferoseptal, inferior, and inferolateral) was reported in both hypokinesia and normokinesia. Conclusions: ultrasound evaluation of systolic LV function using STE is characterized by greater diagnostic value compared to the measurement of EF only and objectifies the efficacy of surgery. Quantitative assessment of the recovery of both global and local systolic contractility is another advantage of STE allowing for personalized treatment. KEYWORDS: inferior wall myocardial infarction, echocardiography, speckle tracking technology, percutaneous coronary intervention, ejection fraction. FOR CITATION: Akramova E.G., Vlasova Е.V. Assessment of left ventricular contractility in acute inferior wall myocardial infarction by speckle tracking echocardiography. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2021;5(4):169–175 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2021-5-4-169-175.