Assessment of left ventricular myocardial systolic motion along the longitudinal axis in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyo-pathy by Doppler tissue imaging

Objective:To determine the value of the quantitative tissue velocity imaging (QTVI) for the evaluation of the left ventricular regional systolic function in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).Methods:Off line profiles of the left ventricular regional systolic velocity along long axis in 31 HCM patients and 20 healthy subjects were analyzed by QTVI.The regional myocardial systolic peak velocities and times from the electrocardiographic Q wave to the peak of the systolic wave of each segment were measured.The mean peak velocities (Vs) and times (Ts) of different segments from the same level were calculated.Results:Vs was lower and Ts was longer at each level including mitral annular,basal,middle and apical segments in the HCM patients than in the healthy subjects ( P 0.01).But there were no significant differences in Vs and Ts between obstructive and non obstructive groups in HCM patients.Conclusion:The left ventricular myocardial contractility along the longitudinal axis is impaired although left ventricular ejection fraction is normal in HCM patients,suggesting that QTVI can assess accurately left ventricular regional systolic function in HCM patients.