Three-dimensional versus two-dimensional derived strain echocardiography for assessing right ventricular myocardial deformation in patients with chronic left ventricular heart failure: A proof-of-concept study

Background A novel three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE)-derived strain analysis software specialized for right ventricular (RV) monitoring is emerging that could definitely evaluate RV free wall and interventricular septum longitudinal strain. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance in evaluating RV function between 3DE and two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE)-derived longitudinal strain. Methods Echocardiographic examinations were performed in 82 patients with RV dysfunction associated with chronic left-sided heart failure and 40 control subjects. RV dysfunction was defined as a 3DE-derived RV ejection fraction (EF) <45%. Both 2DE and 3DE-derived strain analyses were performed in all the patients to measure the longitudinal strain of RV. Results 3DE-derived peak systolic longitudinal strain of RV free wall (RV-fwLS) was significantly lower in patients with RV dysfunction compared to control subjects (-14.0±4.1 vs. -26.7±4.7%; p<0.001), and it correlated well with cardiac magnetic resonance-derived RVEF (r=0.74, p<0.001). On receiver operator characteristic analysis, a 3DE-derived RV-fwLS cutoff value of >-21.1% was most useful in identifying patients at higher risk of RV dysfunction (sensitivity: 90% and specificity: 85%), also higher than 2DE-derived strain parameters. Additionally, RV dysfunctional patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) had significantly reduced 3DE-derived RV-fwLS value than the subgroup without PH (-13.1±3.8 vs. -15.0±4.2; p<0.05). Conclusion Assessment of RV myocardial function by 3DE-derived longitudinal strain is better than 2DE in identifying patients with impaired RV systolic function. 3DE-derived strain analysis for RV should be considered as a complementary tool for assessing RV systolic function in terms of accuracy.