Abstract
Background - Cardiac involvement in systemic sclerosis (scleroderma [SSc]) adversely affects long-term prognosis, often remaining undetectable despite close clinical examination and 2-dimensional echocardiographic monitoring. Speckle-derived strain of the right ventricle (RV) was utilized to detect occult abnormalities in regional and global contractility in SSc patients. Methods and Results - A total of 138 SSc patients with technically adequate echocardiograms was studied and compared with 40 age- and sex-matched healthy non-SSc controls. Standard assessment of RV chamber function included tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion and fractional area change. RV longitudinal systolic speckle-derived strain was assessed in the basal, mid, and apical free wall. Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion was not different between groups (P=0.307). Although fractional area change was lower in SSc patients than in controls (mean, 48.9 versus 55; P=0.002), the mean fractional area change was still within the normal range (>35). In contrast, RV longitudinal systolic speckle-derived strain measures were significantly different between groups, both globally (-20.4% versus -17.7%; P=0.005) and regionally: they were decreased in the apex (-8.5% versus -17.1%; P<0.0001) and mid segments (-12.4% versus -20.9%; P<0.0001), and increased in the base (-32.2% versus -23.3%; P=0.0001) for the SSc group. The regional difference in the base compared with the apex was significantly greater for SSc than for controls (P<0.0001 for interaction). The differences observed in regional strain between SSc and control were unchanged after adjusting for RV systolic pressure. Conclusions - Speckle-derived strain reveals a heterogenous pattern of regional heart strain in SSc that is not detected by conventional measures of function, suggestive of occult RV myocardial disease.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | e003792 |
Journal | Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2016 |
Keywords
- cardiomyopathies
- heart ventricles
- hypertension, pulmonary
- scleroderma, systemic
- ventricular function, right
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine