Assessment of the right ventricular strain, left ventricular strain and left atrial strain using speckle tracking echocardiography in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objectives: Cardiovascular disease is a prevalent comorbidity and leading cause of mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Early identification of cardiac abnormalities in COPD patients is crucial. Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is practical for assessing ventricular and atrial function, but its role in COPD patients is under-researched. This study aimed to examine right ventricular (RV), left ventricular (LV) and left atrial (LA) strain in COPD patients via STE.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with two groups: COPD patients diagnosed per the 2017 Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease criteria and healthy controls. All the participants underwent STE to evaluate the RV, LV, and LA strains.

Results: RV strain indices (RV free wall longitudinal strain (RVFWSL) and RV 4-chamber longitudinal strain (RV4CSL)) were significantly lower in the COPD group (16.53±5.89% and 14.65±4.53%, respectively) than in the control group (21.39±7.78% and 18.34±6.38%, respectively) (p<0.001). LV global longitudinal strain was also lower in the COPD group (18.45% (17.16-19.51)) than in the control group (19.50% (18.63-21.46), p=0.018). No significant differences were found in LA strain indices (LA reservoir strain, LA conduit strain or LA contractile strain) between the two groups. Furthermore, RVFWSL and RV4CSL were significantly greater in the group with a modified Medical Research Council score <2 (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Compared with healthy controls, COPD patients presented reduced RV and LV strain, with no significant differences in LA strain indices.