Evaluation of Regional Myocardial Function by Strain and Strain Rate before and after Surgical Repair of Congenital Heart Anomalies

• Published in: Journal of Tehran University Heart Center Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 18
• Main Authors: Rafieyian, Sima, Roodpeyma, Shahla, Vahidshahi, Kourosh, Moghadasi, Alireza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tehran Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2018
• Subjects: Anomalies; Cardiac surgical procedures • Echocardiography; Coronary artery disease; Demographic variables; Demographics; Doppler effect; Doppler • Elasticity imaging techniques; Heart; Heart diseases; Heart surgery; Muscle contraction; Myocardium; Patients; Population studies; Reduction; Regional analysis; Segments; Septum; Strain rate; Surgery; Ventricle
• ISSN: 1735-8620; 2008-2371

Background:Tissue Doppler imaging yields useful information about regional myocardial function. The purpose of this study was to investigate myocardial function by strain and strain rate in a group of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) before and after cardiac surgery.Methods:Three consecutive tissue Doppler echocardiographic examinations were performed on 25 patients with CHD, who underwent open-heart surgery. The study was conducted from April 2013 to April 2014 in a university hospital, and the assessments were done 1 day before and 1 week and 1 month after surgery. The effects of demographic variables, types of anomalies, and cardiopulmonary bypass factors on strain were evaluated.Results:The study population comprised 13 female and 12 male patients at a mean age of 9.4 ± 9.8 years. Compared to the preoperative data, repeated measurements of strain in 9 segments of the ventricles showed a significant reduction 1 week after surgery, followed by a significant augmentation 1 month postoperatively (p value = 0.001 for all 9 segments). The reduction in strain at the middle segment of the left ventricular free wall was significant in the cyanotic patients (p value = 0.037). The increase in strain at the middle segment of the septum and the right ventricular basal and middle segments was significant (p value = 0.021, p value = 0.015, and p value = 0.021, respectively) in the patients with a shorter pump time.Conclusion:Our patients experienced an early decline in myocardial function after cardiac surgery, but their myocardium recovered its contractility gradually.