To evaluate the value of left ventricular systolic function in patients with acute heart failure after treatment by rhBNP using two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging

Objective: To investigate the value of left ventricular systolic function in patients with acute heart failure after treatment by rh BNP using two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging. Methods: Forty cases of acute heart failure patients were given conventional therapy,respectively,in the application of the rh BNP before and after treatment. The conventional echcardiographic parameters of left ventricular end-diastolic diameter and left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) were obtainted.Then the STI technology was applied to detect each segment of the left ventricular myocardial systolic peak strain and left ventricular 1ong axis of the average total strain absolute value. The above data of another 40 healthy volunteers were measured as control. Results: Compared with control group,patients with acute heart failure before the rh BNP treatment,left ventricular end-diastolic diameter increased,LVEF decreased,each segment of the left ventricular myocardium of left ventricular peak systolic strain and left ventricular long axis of the average total strain absolute value decreased with statistically significant differences(P0.01). Compared with the data before treatment,rh BNP after treatment in patients with left ventricular enddiastolic diameter was reduced,LVEF increased earlier,each segment of the left ventricular myocardium of left ventricular peak systolic strain and left ventricular long axis of the average total strain absolute value were increased with significant differences(P 0.05). Left ventricular long axis of the average total strain showed good correlation with LVEF before and after treatment. Conclusion: rh BNP treatment can effectively improve the left ventricular systolic function in patients with acute heart failure. 2D-STI is a kind of angel-independent and repeatable method with high time and spatial resolution. By displaying the changes of left ventricular function after rh BNP treatment quantitatively and objectively,it provides us a new method for clinical evaluation of left ventricular function compared to conventional ultrasound by quantitatively evaluating the local myocardial movement and detecting myocardial movement disorders.