Cardiac Mechanics Evaluated by Speckle Tracking Echocardiography

Abstract

Natural myocardial markers, or speckles, originated from constructive and destructive interference of ultrasound in the tissues may provide early diagnosis of myocardial changes and be used in the prediction of some cardiac events. Due to its relatively temporal stability, speckles can be tracked by dedicated software along the cardiac cycle, enabling the analysis of the systolic and diastolic function. They are identified by either conventional 2D grey scale and by 3D echo, conferring independence of the insonation angle, thus allowing assessment of cardiac mechanics in the three spatial planes: longitudinal, circumferential, and radial. The purposes of the present paper are: to discuss the role and the meaning of cardiac strain obtained by speckle tracking during the evaluation of cardiac physiology and to discuss clinical applications of this novel echocardiographic technology.

Effects of anesthesia on conventional and speckle tracking echocardiographic parameters in a mouse model of pressure overload

“…It captures segmental displacement and velocity of the left ventricle in multiple planes over the cardiac circle and can be acquired from tissue Doppler or 2-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) (6). In the STE method, the speckles resulting from acoustic interference phenomena are used to track the movement of myocardium (7). Due to the benefits of high reproducibility and angle-independency over color tissue Doppler imagining, STE has been widely applied (8).…”

Modern Possibilities of Speckle Tracking Echocardiography in Clinical Practice

“…Методика спекл-трекинг эхокардиографии левого желудочка В основе методики STE лежит отслеживание траек-тории движения (tracking) в ходе сердечного цикла аку-стических маркеров миокарда (speckle) в серошкаль-ном двухмерном ультразвуковом изображении [10]. Каждый участок ткани миокарда кодируется индиви-дуальным оттенком серого цвета.…”

“…STE не зависит от угла сканирования, что дает воз-можность оценивать движения миокарда в трех плос-костях (продольной, циркулярной и радиальной) [10]. Известно, что движение миокарда в этих плоскостях определяется архитектоникой слоев миокардиальных волокон: во время кардиоцикла субэндокардиальный и субэпикардиальный слои движутся спиралевидно в противоположных направлениях, а средний слой -цир-кулярно [3].…”

Uso clínico do strain rate na ecocardiografia sob estresse em paciente assintomática com fatores de risco para doença cardiovascular: relato de caso

“…A técnica permite a quantificação de deformação miocárdica em planos longitudinal, circunferencial e radial ao medir a velocidade tecidual e torção ventricular sem a dependência do ângulo de incidência do ultrassom, identificando pontos intramiocárdicos brilhantes (speckles) e os acompanhando durante o ciclo cardíaco. 8 Em hipertensos com HVE, o SR em plano longitudinal pode estar reduzido em comparação com indivíduos controle, pela alteração na estrutura do ventrículo esquerdo (VE). Na DAC, o SR longitudinal pode alterar-se primeiramente em decorrência das anormalidades de perfusão na região subendocárdica, a qual sofre maior deformidade durante a sístole em relação à região subepicárdica, implicando em aumento na pressão e no consumo de oxigênio.…”

“…Na DAC, o SR longitudinal pode alterar-se primeiramente em decorrência das anormalidades de perfusão na região subendocárdica, a qual sofre maior deformidade durante a sístole em relação à região subepicárdica, implicando em aumento na pressão e no consumo de oxigênio. 8 …”