Assessment of left ventricular (LV) strain in patients with coronary heart disease by three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (3D-STI)

Objective To explore the value in assessment of LV regional systolic function in patients with coronary heart disease by evaluating LV strain in short axis and long axis using three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging(3D-STI).Methods A total of 22 cases of coronary heart disease(CHD) and 23 cases of healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study.Left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) and end-diastolic volume(LVEDV),left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),left ventricular long-axis and short-axis strain were gained by 3D-STI which employed full volume 3D acquisition and subsequent quantitative analysis in all subjects.The values of strain were compared between two groups.Results The values of LVEDV,LVESV,LVEF between CHD patients and normal controls were not significantly different(P 0.05).The peak and average values of LV radial strain at systolic phase were gradually increased from apex,middle segment to basal segment in normal controls.The peak and average values of LV circumferential and longitudinal strain at systolic phase were gradually decreased from apex,middle segment to basal segment in normal controls.The peak and average values of LV radial,circumferential,longitudinal strains at systolic phase in CHD patients were lower than those in normal controls (P0.05).Conclusion 3D-STI is a non-invasive and objective method to evaluate LV radial,circumferential and longitudinal strains of all segments in patients with CHD.