Evaluating right ventricular function with plasma BNP and two-dimensional strain and strain rate in children with left-to-right shunting congenital heart disease associated with pulmonary artery hypertension

Objective To evaluate right ventricular function with plasma brain natriuretic peptide(BNP) and two-dimensional strain (GLS) and strain rate(GLSR) in children with left-to-right shunting congenital heart disease(CHD) associated with pulmonary artery hypertension(PAH).Methods A total of 65 CHD patients was divided into groups of A(with PAH,48 cases)and B(without PAH,17 cases).Thirty healthy children were taken as the controls(group C). Right ventricular function was analyzed with two-dimensional images preserved in VIVID 7 Echopac workstation.Plasma BNP was detected with ELISA.Results Plasma BNP was higher in group A,which increased as PAH became severer,than that in groups of B and C(P0.01). The opposite changes were the GLS and GLSR(P0.01). Plasma BNP was positively correlated with PASP (P0.01) and Qp/Qs(P0.05).Plasma BNP was negatively correlated with GLS and GLSR (P0.01 and P0.05).Conclusion Plasma BNP can reflect the pressure and volume overload of CHD with PAH and may be taken as an objective index in auxiliary diagnosis and the evaluation of CHD severity.GLS and GLSR can be used as new parameters to assess right ventricular global and segmental function properly.