Tissue Doppler Image-Derived Myocardial Performance(Tei Index) as a Simple Assessment of Global Cardiac Function in Adults

Background and Objectives：A new Doppler time index of myocardial performance (the Tei index) has been studied as a useful predictor of global cardiac function. It is defined as (a-b)/b, where a is the interval between the end and onset of the mitral inflow, and b is the ejection time of the left ventricular outflow. However, the Doppler time intervals are not measured on the same cardiac cycle. Subjects and Methods：We compared the tissue Doppler imaging (TDI)-derived Tei index, which can be measured on the same cardiac cycle, with the conventional Tei index as measured by pulsed wave Doppler method, in healthy persons (n=44), in patients having diastolic dysfunction with an E/E’ ratio >10 (DD, n=56), and in patients having systolic dysfunction with an ejection fraction <50% (SD, n=10). At the septal and lateral mitral annulus from the apical 4-chamber view, the time interval between the end and onset of the mitral annular velocities during diastole (a’) minus the duration of the systolic wave (b’) divided by b’, which is (a’-b’)/b’, is defined as the TDI-tei index. Results： The TDI-Tei index and the conventional Tei index were significantly higher in the SD group than in the DD group, and they were also higher in the DD group than in the healthy controls. The TDI-Tei index at the septal and lateral annulus correlated well with the Tei index (r=0.71, r=0.65, respectively, p<0.001) and this showed a good correlation with other echocardiographic parameters of diastolic function. Conclusion：We demonstrated that the TDI-Tei index correlates well with the conventional Tei index along with having the advantage of simultaneous recording of the systolic and diastolic velocities in adults. (Korean Circulation J 2005;35:315-321)