Speckle Tracking Echocardiography in Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease

Abstract

Assessment of myocardial strain using speckle tracking echocardiography is an emerging echocardiographic technique that is increasingly used in the diagnosis and management of acquired heart disease in adults. In pediatric heart disease, this is still mainly considered as a research tool as the application of this technology has been slowed by the lack of vendor-independent technology and of normative data across the different age ranges. We believe that the technology has potential applications for the early detection of myocardial dysfunction, the quantification of ventricular function in congenital heart disease, and the detection of dyssynchrony.

Left Ventricular Mechanics in Patients with Abnormal Origin of the Left Main Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Trunk Late after Successful Repair

“…Data regarding long-term follow-up are limited and despite apparent good left ventricle (LV) systolic function, as assessed by standard echocardiography, follow-up complications such as persistent mitral regurgitation, congestive heart failure, and coronary stenosis may necessitate reinterventions, including heart transplantation [4,5,6,7]. Advanced echocardiographic technique, such as speckle tracking echocardiography (STE), allows angle-independent assessment of cardiac mechanics and has demonstrated in several studies the ability to detect early subclinical myocardial abnormalities, even in the presence of normal LV ejection fraction (EF) [8,9]. …”

Echocardiographic Assessment of Ventricular Function in Pediatric Patients: A Comprehensive Guide

“…However, the published guidelines did not include the emerging techniques such as 3D echocardiography and myocardial deformation imaging [2]. These technologies have evolved quickly and are ready for transition from research into clinical practice in pediatric and congenital heart disease [3,4]. 3D echocardiography can be used for quantification of ventricular volumes and ejection fraction.…”

“…3D echocardiography can be used for quantification of ventricular volumes and ejection fraction. Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) are useful for the quantification of regional myocardial dysfunction, dyssynchrony assessment and early detection of myocardial dysfunction [3][4][5]. Integrating this technology adds information to the conventional parameters and this can be helpful to the echocardiographer in better describing the cardiac function.…”

Estudio de la función miocárdica mediante ecocardiografía con Speckle-Tracking valores normales en una población pediátrica

“…La medición de la función ventricular utilizando la ecocardiografía con ST, a juzgar por el número de publicaciones, es cada vez más frecuente y aunque la mayoría de ellas se haya realizado sobre población adulta, en los últimos años han aparecido trabajos en cardiología pediátrica 17,18,19 que dan cuenta de la importancia de esta nueva técnica sobre la evaluación de la función miocárdica en este grupo poblacional por lo que consideramos de gran importancia obtener valores referenciales propios.…”