Chao, Chieh‐Ju

AbstractA previously healthy 49‐year‐old male patient presented with COVID‐19 infection and required mechanical ventilation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation due to severe hypoxemia. Echocardiography showed cardiac dysfunction with an apical sparing strain pattern, which rapidly normalized within a week. Apical sparing myocardial strain in patients with COVID‐19 infection may suggest reverse‐type stress cardiomyopathy.

Introduction: The right ventricle (RV) strain measured by speckle tracking (RVS) is a novel method of assessing RV function. We compared RVS to RV fractional area change (FAC%), tricuspid annular peak systolic excursion (TAPSE) and Doppler tissue imaging-derived peak systolic velocity (S’) in the assessment of right ventricular (RV) systolic function measured using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: We enrolled consecutive patients who underwent cardiac MRI between Jan 2012- Dec 2017 and a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) within 1 month of the MRI with no interval event. Baseline clinical characteristics and MRI parameters were extracted from chart review. Echocardiographic parameters were measured prospectively. TTE parameters including RVS, TAPSE, S’ and FAC% were tested for accuracy to identify impaired RV EF (EF <45% & <30%) using receiver operator curves. Results: The study cohort included 500 patients with mean age 55 yr ± 18 and right ventricular systolic pressure 33.7 ± 13.6 mmHg. The area under ROC for RVS was 0.69 (95% CI 0.63 – 0.75) and 0.78 (95% CI 0.70 – 0.88) to predict RVEF <45% & RVEF <30% respectively. The RV FAC % had second highest accuracy of predicting RVEF among all the TTE parameters tested in study. Conclusion: Right ventricular strain is the most accurate echocardiographic method to detect impaired right ventricular systolic function when using MRI as the gold standard.

BackgroundQuantitation of regurgitation severity using the proximal isovelocity acceleration (PISA) method to calculate effective regurgitant orifice (ERO) area has limitations. Measurement of three‐dimensional (3D) vena contracta area (VCA) accurately grades mitral regurgitation (MR) severity on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE).MethodsWe evaluated 3D VCA quantitation of regurgitant jet severity using 3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in 110 native mitral, aortic, and tricuspid valves and six prosthetic valves in patients with at least mild valvular regurgitation. The ASE‐recommended integrative method comprising semiquantitative and quantitative assessment of valvular regurgitation was used as a reference method, including ERO area by 2D PISA for assigning severity of regurgitation grade.ResultsMean age was 62.2±14.4 years; 3D VCA quantitation was feasible in 91% regurgitant valves compared to 78% by the PISA method. When both methods were feasible and in the presence of a single regurgitant jet, 3D VCA and 2D PISA were similar in differentiating assigned severity (ANOVAP<.001). In valves with multiple jets, however, 3D VCA had a better correlation to assigned severity (ANOVAP<.0001). The agreement of 2D PISA and 3D VCA with the integrative method was 47% and 58% for moderate and 65% and 88% for severe regurgitation, respectively.ConclusionMeasurement of 3D VCA by TEE is superior to the 2D PISA method in determination of regurgitation severity in multiple native and prosthetic valves.