We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Speckle tracking for left ventricle performance in young athletes with bicuspid aortic valve and mild aortic regurgitation.
- Authors
Laura Stefani; Alessio De Luca; Nicola Maffulli; Roberto Mercuri; Gabriele Innocenti; Irina Suliman; Loira Toncelli; Maria Concetta Vono; Brunello Cappelli; Stefano Pedri; Gianni Pedrizzetti; Giorgio Galanti
- Abstract
Aims Longitudinal peak systolic strain (LPSS) quantifies regional and global heart function. Few data are available on left ventricle (LV) performance in young athletes with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), where a pattern of mild aortic insufficiency is relatively frequent, and the ejection fraction (EF) is often normal for a long time. We report the measurement of LV strain in young BAV athletes. Methods and results Three groups (20 athletes with BAV, 20 healthy athletes, and 20 sedentary healthy subjects, all aged 25 ± 3 years) underwent standard echo examination to evaluate LPSS at the basal and medium-apical segments of the lateral wall (LW) and interventricular septum (IVS) of the LV. LPSS was within the normal range; however, in BAV athletes, the LPSS of the basal segments tended to be lower (S%IVSbasal, â17.7 ± 2.7; S%LWbasal, â14.2 ± 2.2; S%IVSmed-apic, â21 ± 3.5; S%LWmed-apic, â18.8 ± 4.2), producing a gradient from basal to apical regions. The EF was normal in all subjects. Conclusion Young trained BAV athletes have normal LV performance. Nevertheless, these athletes tend to have lower strain than healthy subjects in the LV basal segments. The clinical implications of this finding are uncertain and require further investigation.
- Subjects
LEFT heart ventricle; DISEASES in athletes; MITRAL valve insufficiency; AORTIC valve insufficiency; CARDIAC contraction; CONTROL groups
- Publication
European Journal of Echocardiography, 2009, Vol 10, Issue 4, p527
- ISSN
1525-2167
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/ejechocard/jen332