IMR Press / RCM / Volume 23 / Issue 4 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm2304123
Open Access Original Research
Right Atrial and Right Ventricular Function Assessed by Speckle Tracking in Patients with Inferior Myocardial Infarction
Show Less
1 Department of Nuclear Cardiology, National Institute of Cardiology Ignacio Chavez, 14080 Mexico City, Mexico
2 Department of Echocardiography, ABC Medical Center I. A. P., 01120 Mexico City, Mexico
3 Teaching Department, National Institute of Cardiology Ignacio Chavez, 14080 Mexico City, Mexico
4 Department of Physiology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
*Correspondence: niesza2001@hotmail.com (Nilda Espinola-Zavaleta)
Academic Editors: Zhonghua Sun and Yung-Liang Wan
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2022, 23(4), 123; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2304123
Submitted: 25 November 2021 | Revised: 21 January 2022 | Accepted: 25 January 2022 | Published: 1 April 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New insight in Cardiovascular Imaging)
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: In patients with inferior myocardial infarction (MI), involvement of the right chambers has a prognostic impact. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of left ventricular (LV) inferior wall MI in the right atrial (RA), and right ventricular (RV) longitudinal strain (LS) by 2D speckle tracking echocardiography (STE). Methods: 60 consecutive patients who underwent myocardial perfusion (MP) gated SPECT for chest pain were included. We studied 30 patients with LV inferior MI and 30 control subjects with normal MP. RV ejection fraction was measured by 3D transthoracic echocardiography, RV-free wall LS and RA reservoir, contraction, and conduit phases strain were analyzed by 2D speckle tracking echocardiography (STE). Results: The median age in the LV inferior MI was 65 (54–70) years, 27% had a transmural myocardial infarction and 47% had residual myocardial ischemia, most of them, mild (36.7%). RV-free wall LS (–26.1 vs –30.3, p < 0.01), RA LS-reservoir phase (31.5 vs 56.2, p < 0.01), and RA-conduit phase LS (12.5 vs 35, p = 0.01) were significantly lower in the LV inferior MI patients compared to control subjects. In a logistic regression model, the MI of the LV reduced the 3D ejection fraction of both ventricles, mitral regurgitation, and pulmonary hypertension were associated with a decrease in RV LS and RA LS. Conclusions: This study shows that RV free wall LS, RA peak strain (reservoir phase), and RA conduit phase strain were significantly lower in patients with LV inferior MI vs control individuals. Subclinical extension to the RV in the inferior MI of the LV and its role in the longitudinal strain of RA could be determined using speckle tracking echocardiography.

Keywords
right atrial strain
right ventricular strain
inferior myocardial infarction
speckle tracking
Figures
Fig. 1.
Share
Back to top