Two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography for the assessment of atrial function

Echocardiography is the most common diagnostic method for assessing atrial function but the technique has some limitations. Traditionally, assessment of left atrial function has been performed by measuring volumes with 2D echocardiography. Additionally, it can be assessed with transmitral Doppler an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:World journal of cardiology 2010-07, Vol.2 (7), p.163-170
Main Authors: Cianciulli, Tomás Francisco, Saccheri, María Cristina, Lax, Jorge Alberto, Bermann, Alejandra Marina, Ferreiro, Daniel Ernesto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Active
Atrial
conduit
echocardiography
function
Longitudinal
Passive
pump
reservoir
Speckle
strain
tracking
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Summary:Echocardiography is the most common diagnostic method for assessing atrial function but the technique has some limitations. Traditionally, assessment of left atrial function has been performed by measuring volumes with 2D echocardiography. Additionally, it can be assessed with transmitral Doppler and pulmonary vein Doppler. Recently, an alternative method has been incorporated, namely, measurement of myocardial deformation with color tissue Doppler-derived strain. However, this method has several limitations, such as suboptimal reproducibility, angle-dependence, signal artifacts and the fact that it only measures regional strain and does not obtain information about the curved portion of the atrial roof. To overcome these limitations in the quantification of atrial function, the use of speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) strain has been proposed. This technique is not derived from Doppler but rather from 2D echocardiography; it is angle-independent and allows one to measure global as well as regional atrial strain. In this editorial, we describe the physical and pathophysiological concepts of STE and underline the clinical usefulness of this new technique.
ISSN:1949-8462
1949-8462
DOI:10.4330/wjc.v2.i7.163