Echocardiography is the most common diagnostic method for assessing cardiac function but some limitations affect this technique.Until now,visual assessment of wall motion and thickening has allowed only a subjective e...Echocardiography is the most common diagnostic method for assessing cardiac function but some limitations affect this technique.Until now,visual assessment of wall motion and thickening has allowed only a subjective evaluation of myocardial function and requires long-term training.Recently,new echocardiographic techniques have been introduced to evaluate myocardial mechanics.Tissue Doppler imaging(TDI)technique is limited by angle-dependency such that only deformation along the ultrasound beam can be derived from velocities,while myocardium deforms simultaneously in three dimensions.Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)is a more recent technique that provides a global approach to left ventricular myocardial mechanics,giving information about the three spatial dimensions of cardiac deformation.In this editorial,we describe the physical and pathophysiological concepts of STE,discussing the differences compared to TDI and underlining the pitfalls of this new technique.展开更多
Systemic autoimmune diseases are characterized by an excess of cardiovascular(CV) morbidity and mortality compared to the general population,mainly due to chronic inflammation that promotes the development of endothel...Systemic autoimmune diseases are characterized by an excess of cardiovascular(CV) morbidity and mortality compared to the general population,mainly due to chronic inflammation that promotes the development of endothelial dysfunction and enhanced atherosclerosis.Early diagnosis of silent CV involvement is mandatory to improve the long term prognosis of these patients and CV imaging provides valuable information as a reliable diagnostic tool.Transthoracic echocardiography,with several applications(e.g.coronary flow reserve evaluation,tissue Doppler imaging,speckle tracking and the transesophageal approach),represents a first line evaluation,in association with biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction,such as asymmetric dimethylarginine.Nuclear medicine provides useful information on myocardial perfusion.The aim of this editorial is to provide a brief but complete review of the diagnostic tools available for screening and follow up of CV involvement in systemic autoimmune diseases.展开更多
文摘Echocardiography is the most common diagnostic method for assessing cardiac function but some limitations affect this technique.Until now,visual assessment of wall motion and thickening has allowed only a subjective evaluation of myocardial function and requires long-term training.Recently,new echocardiographic techniques have been introduced to evaluate myocardial mechanics.Tissue Doppler imaging(TDI)technique is limited by angle-dependency such that only deformation along the ultrasound beam can be derived from velocities,while myocardium deforms simultaneously in three dimensions.Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)is a more recent technique that provides a global approach to left ventricular myocardial mechanics,giving information about the three spatial dimensions of cardiac deformation.In this editorial,we describe the physical and pathophysiological concepts of STE,discussing the differences compared to TDI and underlining the pitfalls of this new technique.
文摘Systemic autoimmune diseases are characterized by an excess of cardiovascular(CV) morbidity and mortality compared to the general population,mainly due to chronic inflammation that promotes the development of endothelial dysfunction and enhanced atherosclerosis.Early diagnosis of silent CV involvement is mandatory to improve the long term prognosis of these patients and CV imaging provides valuable information as a reliable diagnostic tool.Transthoracic echocardiography,with several applications(e.g.coronary flow reserve evaluation,tissue Doppler imaging,speckle tracking and the transesophageal approach),represents a first line evaluation,in association with biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction,such as asymmetric dimethylarginine.Nuclear medicine provides useful information on myocardial perfusion.The aim of this editorial is to provide a brief but complete review of the diagnostic tools available for screening and follow up of CV involvement in systemic autoimmune diseases.
