Right ventricular function quantification in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy using two-dimensional strain echocardiography.

Abstract

This study sought to characterize global and regional right ventricular (RV) myocardial function in patients with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) using 2D strain imaging. We compared various parameters of RV and left ventricular (LV) systolic function between 2 groups of consecutive patients with TC at initial presentation and upon follow-up. Group 1 had RV involvement and group 2 did not have RV involvement. At initial presentation, RV peak systolic longitudinal strain (RVPSS) and RV fractional area change (RVFAC) were significantly lower in group 1 (-13.2±8.6% vs. -21.8±5.4%, p = 0.001; 30.7±9.3% vs. 43.5±6.3%, p = 0.001) and improved significantly upon follow-up. Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) did not differ significantly at initial presentation between both groups (14.8±4.1 mm vs. 17.9±3.5 mm, p = 0.050). Differences in regional systolic RV strain were only observed in the mid and apical segments. LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and LV global strain were significantly lower in group 1 (36±8% vs. 46±10%, p = 0.006 and -5.5±4.8% vs. -10.2±6.2%, p = 0.040) at initial presentation. None of the parameters were significantly different between the 2 groups upon follow-up. A RVPSS cut-off value of >-19.1% had a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 71% to discriminate between the 2 groups. In TC, RVFAC, RVPSS, LVEF and LV global strain differed significantly between patients with and without RV dysfunction, whereas TAPSE did not. 2 D strain imaging was feasible for the assessment of RV dysfunction in TC and could discriminate between patients with and without RV involvement in a clinically meaningful way.