Myocardial strain echocardiographic assessment: from theory to practice

Abstract

Assessment of systolic and diastolic ventricular function is one of the main goals of echocardiography. Nevertheless, some patients require data beyond standard echocardiographic protocol for making more precise clinical decision and prognosis determination. The spectrum of novel parameters, including myocardial strain and strain rate, provides more comprehensive evaluation of the initial changes in myocardium in a variety of clinical conditions. New methods of quantifying the systolic function of left and right ventricles can be applied in patients with arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease, hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies, also in patients with valvular heart disease such as aortic stenosis, aortic and mitral insufficiency. Besides strain analysis in patients with myocardial storage diseases, patients on cardiotoxic chemotherapy and patients with heart transplant turned out to be a specific niche for the method. Here, we provide the possibilities of strain analysis in variable heart pathologies in clinical practice.