Evaluation of left ventricular functions by speckle‐tracking echocardiography in coarctation patients

Abstract

Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) is a novel method that allows the assessment of regional myocardial function. The aim of our study was to use 2D-STE to assess left ventricular deformation in patients with coarctation of the aorta (CoA). In this prospective study, patients with CoA (n=42) and healthy controls (n=39) were recruited. Children with CoA who visited the outpatient clinic between 2013 and 2014 were included. The data were compared with those obtained from the sex- and age-matched controls. The mean age of the patients was 5.8±4.5years. Global longitudinal strain based on all three apical views and total global strain values did not appear to be different between the patient and the control groups (P=.59, P=.51, P=.15, P=.38). Hypertension was detected in 14 (33.3%) patients with CoA. There were significant differences between the global longitudinal strain values of the normotensive CoA subgroup and the hypertensive CoA subgroup (P < .05). In our study, we found that 2D-STE total strain analysis of patients with CoA was not different from comparative healthy controls. However, we determined that 2D-STE parameters were lower in the hypertensive CoA subgroup compared to the normotensive CoA subgroup.