Myocardial strain and strain rate reveal changes on regional cardiac function shortly post chemotherapy

Anthracycline chemotherapy is the mainstay of cancer treatment. While the most important late, potentially permanent, side effect of chemotherapy is cardiotoxicity, the short-term acute effects of chemotherapy on cardiac function are not well elucidated. In this study, we used advanced cardiac MRI to assess subclinical changes in cardiac function immediately post chemotherapy treatment. The results demonstrated that strain and strain rate are sensitive imaging parameters that allow for early detection of changes in systolic and diastolic myocardial contractility immediately post chemotherapy despite slight changes in global cardiac function and tissue characterization.