NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In patients who have undergone cardiac resynchronization therapy, tissue synchronization imaging helps to diagnose regional wall delay and also to predict left ventricular reverse remodeling.
In the March 1st issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a multicenter team of researchers from Hong Kong, led by Dr. Cheuk-Man Yu of The Chinese University there, explains that tissue synchronization imaging “portrays regional asynchrony on two-dimensional echocardiography by transforming the timing of regional peak velocity into color codes.”
Mapping of these colors, the authors explain, makes regional delays in systole immediately obvious and also permits quantitative measurements of regional delays.
In the study, the investigators sought to determine whether the results of tissue synchronization imaging could predict the response to cardiac resynchronization therapy. They applied the technique before and at 3 months after resynchronization in 56 patients with heart failure.
For each patient, the researchers computed 8 parameters of systolic asynchrony based on measurements of time to regional peak systolic velocity in the left ventricle. Severe lateral wall delay, which occurred in 17 patients, was predictive of left ventricular reverse remodeling, the investigators said.
“Among the eight quantitative parameters of asynchrony, the predictive values were higher for parameters that measured time to regional peak systolic velocity in the ejection phase than in postsystolic shortening,” the authors report.
The most powerful predictor of reverse remodeling -- as well as of gain in ejection fraction -- was the standard deviation of the time to regional peak systolic velocity of 12 left ventricular segments in ejection phase, according to the article.
“Tissue synchronization imaging allows quick evaluation of regional wall delay, and...provides a reliable way of predicting reverse remodeling after cardiac resynchronization therapy,” the researchers conclude.
Source: J Am Coll Cardio 2005;45:677-684 [ Google search on this article ]
MeSH Headings:Echocardiography, Doppler: Ventricular Function: Ventricular Function, Left: Ultrasonography, Doppler: Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color: Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex: Echocardiography, Doppler, ColorCopyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
