Evaluation of correlation between myocardial performance index and left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction

Background: In the diagnosis of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), prediction of left ventricular systolic function is one of the vital elements. Traditionally, assessment of left ventricular function is focused on measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). But it is load dependent and sensitive to the alterations in preload and after-load. However, myocardial performance index (MPI) demonstrates supremacy over older established indexes. Hence, the purpose of the study is to estimate the correlation between MPI and LVEF in patients with acute STEMI.Methods: A total of 105 consecutive patients underwent conventional estimation of ejection fraction and LV end-systolic volume by a Teichholz method. All patients received 325mg dispersible aspirin, 300mg clopidogrel at the time of admission and streptokinase. Doppler echocardiographic evaluations were performed at presentation, immediately after thrombolysis (90 minutes) and before discharge on 3rd to 5th days.Results: The mean patient age was 56.36years and 89 (84.76%) patients were male. A low LVEF of <40%, significantly correlated with higher (worse) MPI at the time of presentation (P= 0.04). LVEF showed improvement after thrombolysis, moreover it was significantly higher at 0' (P= <0.03) and 3rd day (P= 0.05) in patients with MPI <0.5.Conclusions: A significant correlation was found between left ventricular ejection fraction and myocardial performance index; lesser the left ventricular ejection fraction, higher the myocardial performance index. However, myocardial performance index could not predict adverse cardiac events during the hospital stay.