Evaluation of left atrial and left ventricular functions in patients with Wolff‐Parkinson‐White syndrome before and after radiofrequency catheter ablation using three‐dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography

Abstract

Background Wolff‐Parkinson‐White (WPW) syndrome is one of the most common congenital cardiac abnormalities among ventricular pre‐excitation syndromes. Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) treatment of accessory pathways (APs) in WPW patients is an established curative therapy restoring normal atrioventricular conduction. We have not encountered any studies evaluating both the LA and LV functions of these patients before and after RFCA with three dimensional‐speckle tracking echocardiography (3D‐speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)). Aim The purpose of the current study was to assess the LA and LV functions in patients with WPW syndrome before and after RFCA using 3D‐STE. Methods A total of 21 patients with WPW syndrome who had been scheduled for RFCA were prospectively recruited for this study. 3D‐STE examinations of the patients were performed 12–24 h before ablation and 1 month after ablation. Results The LV‐global longitudinal strain (LV‐GLS) and LV‐global circumferential strain (LV‐GCS) were significantly depressed in the pre‐RFCA WPW group than in the control group (−14.3 ± 2.1 vs. −21.5 ± 2.2, p < .001; −12.6 ± 1.8 vs. −20.4 ± 1.8, p < .001, respectively). The left atrial strain‐reservoir (LAS‐r) and LAS‐active were significantly decreased in the pre‐RFCA WPW group than in the control group (31.9 ± 2.4 vs. 48.8 ± 2.6, p < .001; 11.7 ± 2 vs. 26.5 ± 2.1, p < .001, respectively). The LV‐GLS, LV‐GCS, LAS‐r, and LAS‐active values improved after RFCA compared to before. Conclusion The results of our study indicated that there are subclinical impairments in LV and LA myocardial dynamics in the apparently healthy WPW patients, and these deteriorations improve after RFCA of AP.

Evaluation of cardiac chamber functions by speckle‐tracking echocardiography in the presence of coronary artery flow disturbances other than stenosis: A review

“…Speckle‐tracking echocardiography (STE) is an imaging modality that can detect subtle dysfunction in various conditions, such as metabolic disorders and arrhythmias, in the cardiac chambers 16–19 . In addition, coronary artery stenosis, which leads to coronary flow impairment, can result in myocardial dysfunction, detectable by various echocardiographic methods 20 .…”