Key result
Horses with moderate aortic regurgitation had significantly higher average radial strain (75.5% vs 54.5%) and circumferential strain (19.3% vs 16.8%) compared to healthy control horses.
Why the study?
Aortic regurgitation can lead to left ventricular dilatation, arrhythmias, and heart failure, but whether two-dimensional speckle tracking can detect altered myocardial function in horses with chronic aortic regurgitation was unknown.
Does 2D speckle tracking echocardiography detect altered myocardial function in horses with aortic regurgitation compared to healthy controls?
Cross-Sectional (n=86)
No
Does 2D speckle tracking echocardiography detect altered myocardial function in horses with aortic regurgitation compared to healthy controls?
Absolute Event Rate: 75.5% vs 54.5%
p-value: p=<0.05
2D speckle tracking echocardiography can detect altered myocardial motion, specifically higher radial and circumferential strain, in horses with moderate aortic regurgitation.
BACKGROUND: Aortic regurgitation (AR) may lead to left ventricular (LV) dilatation, cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure. Close follow-up of horses with AR is therefore paramount to detect onset of cardiac decompensation. The aim of this study was to examine whether two-dimensional speckle tracking (2DST) can be used to detect altered myocardial function in horses with chronic AR compared to control horses. Speckle tracking was performed on short axis and long axis images of the LV in 29 healthy Warmblood horses and 57 Warmblood horses with AR. Radial, circumferential and longitudinal strain, strain rate and displacement were measured for each segment separately and the average was calculated over all segments. Data generated from the apical segments were not included in the analysis. RESULTS: Radial (SR) and circumferential (SC) strain were significantly higher in horses with moderate AR (average SR 75.5 ± 24.3%, SC 19.3 ± 3.2%) but not in horses with severe AR (SR 65.5 ± 26.2%, SC 16.3 ± 3.5%), compared to control horses (SR 54.5 ± 18.0%, SC 16.8 ± 3.0%). Longitudinal strain did not show significant differences, but longitudinal displacement (DL) was larger in horses with moderate (average DL 29.5 ± 4.1 cm) and severe AR (DL 32.4 ± 6.1 cm) compared to control horses (DL 25.7 ± 4.0 cm), especially in the interventricular septum. Diastolic longitudinal strain rate was lower in early diastole in horses with severe AR (0.93 ± 0.18/s) compared to controls (1.13 ± 0.13/s). CONCLUSIONS: 2DST is able to detect altered myocardial motion in horses with AR, which showed significantly higher radial and circumferential strain. Further research is needed to determine whether these findings contribute to a more accurate diagnosis and prognosis in clinical cases.
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Decloedt et al. (2020) conducted a cross-sectional in Aortic regurgitation (n=86). Aortic regurgitation vs. Healthy control horses was evaluated on Average radial strain (SR) (p=<0.05). Horses with moderate aortic regurgitation had significantly higher average radial strain (75.5% vs 54.5%) and circumferential strain (19.3% vs 16.8%) compared to healthy control horses.
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