Abstract
Background: This study investigated the clinical value of the myocardial work technique for the quantitative analysis of left ventricular (LV) systolic function in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients with or without left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).Methods: A total of 58 MHD patients and 29 normal subjects were registered in this study. The MHD patients were divided into the non-left ventricular hypertrophy (NLVH) group (n=32) and the LVH group (n=26) according to the LV myocardial index (LVMI). Automated function imaging was used to analyze the dynamic images of the LV myocardium obtained in two-, three-, and four-chamber views. The blood pressure was inputted to generated the LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), myocardial global work index (GWI), global constructive work (GCW), global wasted work (GWW), global work efficiency (GWE), and peak strain dispersion (PSD). GLS, PSD, and the MW parameters (GWI, GCW, GWW, GWE) were compared between groups and the correlations between these parameters and the LV ejection fraction (LVEF) were examined. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the efficacy of MW parameters and GLS for the assessment of LV systolic dysfunction in MHD patients with LVH.Results: The LVH group had significantly lower GWE, GWI, GCW, and GLS but higher GWW and PSD than the control and NLVH groups. Compared with the control group, the NLVH group had significantly lower GWE and GLS and higher GWW, but no significant differences in GWI, GCW, and PSD were observed between these two groups. The LVEF was negatively correlated with GWW in MHD patients, but positively correlated with GWI, GWE, and GCW. Area under the curve (AUC) analysis revealed that in the LVH group, GWE, GWW, GWI, and GCW had appreciable AUC, sensitivity, and specificity for evaluating LV function in LVH patients. Conclusion: MW parameters can be effectively used to evaluate the LV systolic function in MHD patients with or without LVH.