Serial assessment of systolic function with different techniques should be avoided, and additional non-invasive tools are needed to identify subclinical left ventricular dysfunction.
Ejection fraction alone is insufficient for detecting subclinical myocardial dysfunction, and serial assessments using different imaging modalities should be avoided as they are not interchangeable.
Detection of subclinical myocardial involvement is of utmost importance in risk stratification and prognosis; the role of ejection fraction in the detection of subclinical disease may be unhelpful. Our aim was to evaluate the methodology and importance of early detection of myocardial involvement in the presence of normal ejection fraction. Most of the pertinent English and non-English articles published from 1980 to 2006 in Medline, Scopus, and EBSCO Host research databases have been reviewed. Serial assessment of systolic function with different techniques should be avoided, since imaging modalities and ejection fraction measurements are not interchangeable. Additional non-invasive tools still are needed for the identification of subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in certain diseases. The recognition of subclinical involvement will prompt initiation of specific therapy to prevent the development of overt left ventricular dysfunction. This also is needed for determining the best timing for intervention in asymptomatic patients with metabolic and valvular disorders.
El‐Menyar et al. (Thu,) conducted a review in Subclinical myocardial involvement with normal ejection fraction. Early detection of myocardial involvement was evaluated. Serial assessment of systolic function with different techniques should be avoided, and additional non-invasive tools are needed to identify subclinical left ventricular dysfunction.