Relationship between Color-Coded Anatomical M-Mode, Strain Imaging, and Tissue Doppler Imaging in Assessing Myocardial Asynchrony in Normal Subjects.

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to compare the time-to-peak systolic contraction time (Tc) by color-coded anatomical M-mode (AMM), the time-to-peak systolic strain (Tst) by strain rate imaging (SRI), and the time-to-peak systolic velocity (Ts) by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in the left (LV) and right (RV) ventricular segments of normal subjects. We also sought to determine the relationship between these methods for defining asynchrony indices in normal subjects.

Methods: Conventional echocardiography, color-coded AMM, SRI, and TDI were performed on 44 healthy adult volunteers (at the Tehran Heart Center and Shariati Hospital) to measure Tc, Tst, and Ts for 12 LV and 2 RV segments at mid and basal levels. Additionally, delays and standard deviations (SDs) were measured in all 12 LV segments.

Results: In the assessed segments, Tc by AMM and Tst by SRI were significantly greater than Ts by TDI (P<0.001). No significant differences were noted between Tc and Tst in 8 LV and 2 RV segments (P<0.05). For the septal basal segment, the respective values were Ts=170.43±36.76 ms, Tst=372.34±72.21 ms, and Tc=374.19±42.76 ms. A moderate correlation was observed between AMM and SRI in assessing asynchrony and SD for all LV segments, but no correlation existed between AMM and TDI.

Conclusion: Tc by AMM and Tst by SRI were significantly higher than Ts by TDI in the LV and RV segments. There was no correlation between AMM and TDI in defining asynchrony indices.