Evaluation of strain parameters during stress-echocardiography with physical exercise may be significant in detecting severe coronary artery disease
Authors: Stepanova A , Radova NF , Alekhin MN 
Published: February 2021

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: None.

Background. Assessment of the left ventricular strain during speckle-tracking stress echocardiography may be significant in diagnosing transient myocardial ischemia. So it is challenging to evaluate left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS) and post-systolic shortening indicators during stress-echocardiography and compare their diagnostic value with the data obtained with invasive methods of diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD).

Aim of the study. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic capabilities of the left ventricular GLS, delta GLS, left ventricular post-systolic index (PSI) and post-systolic time (PST) obtained during stress echocardiography with exercise on the treadmill in defining the presence and significance of CAD.

Methods. The study included 113 patients (mean age 64.8 ± 9.4 years; 43 females) with known or suspected CAD. All patients underwent stress echocardiography with exercise on the treadmill. At rest and after treadmill-test, all patients were measured for the values of left ventricular GLS, left ventricular PSI and PST using the AFI (Automated functional imaging) algorithm. The delta of the left ventricular GLS values was also counted. The delta of the left ventricular GLS values was counted as the difference of the left ventricular GLS values after the load and at rest. All patients underwent coronary angiography, assessment of the severity of CAD was counted according to the Gensini score. According to the results of coronary angiography, the patients were divided into 3 groups: 41 patients without CAD, 53 patients with moderate CAD (≤34 points on the Gensini score) and 19 patients with severe CAD (&gt;35 points on the Gensini score).

Results. In the group of patients with severe CAD, values of left ventricular GLS after the load significantly differed from the group of patients without CAD (16,1 compared with 20,3; p = 0,003) and from the group of patients with moderate CAD (16,1 compared with 19,4; p = 0,003). At rest GLS values didn’t differ significantly between all groups. Left ventricular GLS delta in the group of patients with severe CAD differed significantly with the group of patients without CAD (-1,8 compared with 1,3; p = 0,003) and with the group of patients with moderate CAD (-1,8 compared with 0,6; p = 0,03). Left ventricular PSI differed significantly between the group of patients with severe CAD and the group of  patients without CAD after the load (8,4 compared with 5,1; p = 0,03) and at rest didn’t differ significantly. Left ventricular PST values didn’t differ significantly at rest and after the load in all groups.

Conclusions. Strain parameters such as left ventricular GLS, left ventricular GLS delta and left ventricular PSI assessed during stress-echocardiography on the treadmill may be useful in identifying patients with severe CAD. Left ventricular PST didn’t show significance in identifying CAD.