Assessment of left ventricular systolic function and synchronicity in patients after coronary artery bypass using layer-specific strain technology

Objectives To explore the application values of layer-specific strain technology in the assessment of left ventricular (LV) systolic function and synchronicity before and after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods Thirty-three CAD patients scheduled for CABG were recruited, along with 35 controls without cardiovascular disease. The images of apical four, two and three chamber views of LV were collected before CABG and 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after CABG. The layer-specific longitudinal peak strains, time to peak and peak strain dispersion (PSD) were determined for 17 segments of LV using Echo PAC workstation software and Q-analysis software. The differences of these parameters were compared between groups. Results The absolute values of layer-specific longitudinal peak strains at subendocardium, middle layer and subepicardium, respectively represented by GLPSendo, GLPSmid and GLPSepi, decreased significantly (P 0.05) and absolute values of GLPSendo, GLPSmid and GLPSepi 3 months after CABG (P>0.05). At 1 month and 3 months, PSD decreased significantly (P 0.05). Conclusions Layer-specific strain technology provides a quantitative evaluation approach for LV systolic function and synchronicity before and after CABG in CAD patients. As a novel parameter in assessing LV systolic synchronicity, PSD is worthy of clinical popularization.