Speckle-tracking echocardiography for predicting outcome in chronic aortic regurgitation during conservative management and after surgery

Niels Thue Olsen, Peter Sogaard, Henrik B.W. Larsson, Jens Peter Goetze, Christian Jons, Rasmus Mogelvang, Olav W. Nielsen, Thomas Fritz-Hansen

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

97 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to test myocardial deformation imaging using speckle-tracking echocardiography for predicting outcomes in chronic aortic regurgitation. Background: In chronic aortic regurgitation, left ventricular (LV) dysfunction must be detected early to allow timely surgery. Speckle-tracking echocardiography has been proposed for this purpose, but the clinical value of this method in aortic regurgitation has not been established. Methods: A longitudinal study was performed in 64 patients with moderate to severe aortic regurgitation. Thirty-five patients were managed conservatively with frequent clinical visits and sequential echocardiography and followed for an average of 19 ± 8 months, while 29 patients underwent surgery for the valve lesion and were followed for 6 months post-operatively. Baseline LV function by speckle-tracking and conventional echocardiography was compared with impaired outcome after surgery (defined as persisting symptoms or persisting LV dilation [LV end-diastolic volume index <87 ml/m 2] or dysfunction [LV ejection fraction <50%]) and with disease progression during conservative management (defined as development of symptoms, increase in LV volume >15%, or decrease in LV ejection fraction >10%). Results: Reduced myocardial systolic strain, systolic strain rate, and early diastolic strain rate by speckle-tracking echocardiography was associated with disease progression during conservative management (-16.3% vs. -19.0%, p = 0.02; -1.04 vs. -1.19 s -1, p = 0.02; and 1.20 vs. 1.60 s -1, p = 0.002, respectively) and with impaired outcome after surgery (-11.5% vs. -15.6%, p = 0.01; -0.88 vs. -1.01 s -1, p = 0.04; and 0.98 vs. 1.33 s -1, p = 0.01, respectively). Conventional parameters of LV function and size (LV ejection fraction and LV end-diastolic volume index) were associated with outcome after surgery (p = 0.04 and p = 0.01, respectively) but not with outcome during conservative management (p = 0.57 and p = 0.39, respectively). Conclusions: Speckle-tracking echocardiography is useful for the early detection of LV systolic and diastolic dysfunction in chronic aortic regurgitation.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJACC: Cardiovascular Imaging
Volume4
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)223-230
Number of pages8
ISSN1936-878X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2011
Externally publishedYes

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