scholarly journals Hidden Danger of COVID-19 Outbreak: Evaluation of Subclinical Myocardial Dysfunction in Patients with Mild Symptoms

Author(s):  
Murat GUL ◽  
Sinan INCI ◽  
Halil AKTAS ◽  
Oguz YILDIRIM ◽  
Yakup ALSANCAK

Abstract Background: The COVID 19 infection, which is caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has rapidly emerged as a global public health issue. Cardiac complications secondary to this infection are common and associated with mortality. This study aimed to evaluate whether subclinical myocardial dysfunction using left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) in non-hospitalized mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients.Methods: In this cross-sectional, single-center study, data were collected from non-hospitalized mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients between January 01 and February 01, 2021. Fifty (26 male, 24 female) COVID-19 patients and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers have included in the study. Apical four-, three-, and two-chamber images were analyzed longitudinally by conventional methods and speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) for left ventricle functions.Results: The mean age of the COVID-19 patients was 39.55±8.96, 52% of them were male. The most prevalent presenting symptoms were fever (in 34 (68%)), asthenia (in 30 (60%)), loss of appetite (in 21 (42%)), myalgia (in 20 (40%)), and cough (in 13 (26%)). Plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) were significantly higher in the COVID-19 patients than in the controls (10.84±12.44 vs. 4.50±2.81, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of standard echocardiography and Doppler parameters (p>0.05). Left ventricular longitudinal strain and strain velocity parameters were significantly decreased in COVID-19 patients compared to healthy individuals. LV-GLS values (-21,72 ± 3,85% vs. -23,11 ± 4,16%; P =0,003) were significantly lower in COVID-19 patients when compared with the healthy controls.Conclusion: Mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients also have subclinical myocardial dysfunction similar to hospitalized patients. STE has the potential for detecting subclinical LV systolic dysfunction and can provide useful information on the risk stratification in the mildly symptomatic COVID-19 population.

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 100719
Author(s):  
Hezzy Shmueli ◽  
Maulin Shah ◽  
Joseph E. Ebinger ◽  
Long-Co Nguyen ◽  
Fernando Chernomordik ◽  
...  

Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 562
Author(s):  
Rima Šileikienė ◽  
Karolina Adamonytė ◽  
Aristida Ziutelienė ◽  
Eglė Ramanauskienė ◽  
Jolanta Justina Vaškelytė

Background and objectives: Childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels in the world. Obesity in children is defined as a body mass index (BMI) equal to or above the 95th percentile for age and sex. The aim of this study was to determine early changes in cardiac structure and function in obese children by comparing them with their nonobese peers, using echocardiography methods. Materials and methods: The study enrolled 35 obese and 37 age-matched nonobese children. Standardized 2-dimensional (2D), pulsed wave tissue Doppler, and 2D speckle tracking echocardiography were performed. The z-score BMI and lipid metabolism were assessed in all children. Results: Obese children (aged 13.51 ± 2.15 years; 20 boys; BMI z-score of 0.88 ± 0.63) were characterized by enlarged ventricular and atrial volumes, a thicker left ventricular posterior wall, and increased left ventricular mass. Decreased LV and RV systolic and diastolic function was found in obese children. Atrial peak negative (contraction) strain (−2.05% ± 2.17% vs. −4.87% ± 2.97%, p < 0.001), LV and RV global longitudinal strain (−13.3% ± 2.88% vs. −16.87% ± 3.39%; −12.51% ± 10.09% vs. −21.51% ± 7.42%, p < 0.001), and LV global circumferential strain (−17.0 ± 2.7% vs. −19.5 ± 2.9%, p < 0.001) were reduced in obese children. LV torsion (17.94° ± 2.07° vs. 12.45° ± 3.94°, p < 0.001) and normalized torsion (2.49 ± 0.4°/cm vs. 1.86 ± 0.61°/cm, p = 0.001) were greater in obese than nonobese children. A significant inverse correlation was found between LV and RV global longitudinal strain and BMI (r = −0.526, p < 0.01; r = −0.434, p < 0.01) and total cholesterol (r = −0.417, p < 0.01). Multivariate analysis revealed that the BMI z-score was independently related to LV and RV global longitudinal strain as well as LV circumferential and radial strain. Conclusion: 2D speckle tracking echocardiography is beneficial in the early detection of regional LV systolic and diastolic dysfunctions, with preserved ejection fraction as well as additional RV and atrial involvement, in obese children. Obesity may negatively influence atrial and ventricular function, as measured by 2D speckle tracking echocardiography. Obese children, though they are apparently healthy, may have subclinical myocardial dysfunction.


Author(s):  
Akshar Jaglan ◽  
Sarah Roemer ◽  
Ana Cristina Perez Moreno ◽  
Bijoy K Khandheria

Abstract Aims Myocardial work (MW) is a novel parameter that can be used in a clinical setting to assess left ventricular (LV) pressures and deformation. We sought to distinguish patterns of global MW index in hypertensive vs. non-hypertensive patients and to look at differences between categories of hypertension. Methods and results Sixty-five hypertensive patients (mean age 65 ± 13 years; 30 male) and 15 controls (mean age 38 ± 12 years; 7 male) underwent transthoracic echocardiography at rest. Hypertensive patients were subdivided into Stage 1 (n = 32) and Stage 2 (n = 33) hypertension based on 2017 American College of Cardiology guidelines. Exclusion criteria were suboptimal image quality for myocardial deformation analysis, reduced ejection fraction, valvular heart disease, intracardiac shunt, and arrhythmia. Global work index (GWI), global constructive work (GCW), global wasted work (GWW), and global work efficiency were estimated from LV pressure–strain loops utilizing proprietary software from speckle-tracking echocardiography. LV systolic and diastolic pressures were estimated using non-invasive brachial artery cuff pressure. Global longitudinal strain and LV ejection fraction were preserved between the groups with no statistically significant difference, whereas there was a statically significant difference between the control and two hypertension groups in GWI (P = 0.01), GCW (P &lt; 0.001), and GWW (P &lt; 0.001). Conclusion Non-invasive MW analysis allows better understanding of LV response under conditions of increased afterload. MW is an advanced assessment of LV systolic function in hypertension patients, giving a closer look at the relationship between LV pressure and contractility in settings of increased load dependency than LV ejection fraction and global longitudinal strain.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Khanna ◽  
Aditya Bhat ◽  
Henry H Chen ◽  
Kennith Gu ◽  
Gary Gan ◽  
...  

Introduction: Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease process with growing clinical relevance in the current COVID-19 pandemic. Acute-phase myocarditis is known to result in subclinical changes in left ventricular (LV) function despite normal LV ejection fraction (LVEF), as assessed by myocardial deformation indices. The presence of right ventricular (RV) and left atrial (LA) subclinical dysfunction however has not been well described in current literature. Hypothesis: Myocarditis patients have subclinical impairment of LV, RV and LA function as assessed by global longitudinal strain (GLS) on speckle tracking echocardiography. Methods: Consecutive patients with clinical diagnosis of myocarditis admitted to our institution during 2013-2018 were assessed (n=76). Patients who did not meet appropriate diagnostic criteria (n=14), had impaired LVEF or prior cardiac disease (n=8) or poor transthoracic echocardiogram images (n=14) were excluded from analysis. Clinical and echocardiographic parameters were compared to age- , gender- and risk factor- matched controls. GLS was performed by two independent observers using vendor independent software (TomTec Arena, Germany v4.6). Results: The final cohort consisted 40 patients with myocarditis (age 44.3±16.7, 60% male) and 40 matched controls (44.5±16.6, 60% male). No significant differences in baseline clinical characteristics were observed between groups. No differences in LVEF, indexed LV mass, RV fractional area change, indexed LA volume or TR pressure gradient (p>0.05 for all) were demonstrated between the two groups. Patients with myocarditis had a lower mean LV strain (GLS%: -16.4±2.9 vs -19.7±2.7, p=0.0001), a lower mean RV Free Wall Strain (FWS) (GLS%: -22.1±4.1 vs -26.2±6.9, p=0.03) and a lower mean LA reservoir strain (GLS%: 27.5±4.6 vs. 33.7±6.3, p<0.0001) when compared to controls. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the presence of significant subclinical global myocardial dysfunction despite normal traditional echocardiographic indices, in patients with acute-phase myocarditis. Routine assessment of GLS may identify such patients for early targeted cardiac therapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 117954682093001
Author(s):  
Manal F Elshamaa ◽  
Fatma A Mostafa ◽  
Inas AES Sad ◽  
Ahmed M Badr ◽  
Yomna AEM Abd Elrahim

Background: Cardiac systolic dysfunction was potentially found in adult patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who have preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (EF%). In children with ESRD, little data are available on early changes in myocardial function. This study aimed to detect the early changes in myocardial mechanics in pediatric patients with ESRD using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE). Methods: Thirty ESRD children receiving hemodialysis (HD) and30 age-matched controls were prospectively studied. Patients underwent echocardiographic studies before and after HD. Left ventricular longitudinal strain (LS), circumferential strain (CS), and radial strain (RS) myocardial deformation parameters (strain, strain rate) were evaluated by STE. Results: The LS was significantly reduced in pre-HD and post-HD patients compared with controls ( P = .000). Controls showed the highest global longitudinal strain. The RS measurements did not differ significantly among the studied groups except for the inferior segment that is significantly reduced after HD compared with controls ( P < .05). The CS was significantly reduced in pre-HD and post-HD patients compared with controls at the lateral and posterior segments ( P = .035 and P = .013, respectively). Conclusion: Speckle-tracking echocardiography might detect early changes in myocardial mechanics in children with ESRD with preserved EF%.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
O Seckin ◽  
S Unlu ◽  
G Tacoy

Abstract Background The function of both ventricles have been suggested to be affected in patients with mitral stenosis. In this study, it was aimed to investigate deformation properties of right (RV) and left ventricles (LV) in mild and moderate rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS) patients with three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3D-STE). Methods A total of 60 patients were included in the study (20 patients with mild MS diagnosis, 20 patients with moderate MS diagnosis and 20 healthy volunteers). Three-dimensional echocardiography datasets were obtained for both ventricles in all patients. An example for RV assessment is shown in Figure 1. LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), LV torsion, RV free wall (FW) LS and interventricular septal (IVS) LS measurements were analyzed. Results The LV ejection fraction (EF), RV fractional area change and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion values were statistically similar and in the normal range. The LV GLS measurements were significantly different among the groups by being highest in the control group and least in the moderate stenosis group (ANOVA,p &lt; 0.001) (Table 1). Patients with MS showed higher torsional values, correlated with MS severity (ANOVA,p &lt; 0.001) (Table 1). IVS LS, RVFW LS values obtained by RV analysis also differed significantly among groups. The FW-GLS values only showed significant difference between the control group and moderate MS group (Table 1). Conclusion Patients with mitral stenosis showed lower LV-GLS and higher LV torsion values. Although the LV GLS is affected; the LV EF was detected to be normal due to increase in LV torsion. RV deformation indices showed signıficant decrease in correlation with the severity of the mitral stenosis. In conclusion, our data suggest that subclinical LV and RV systolic dysfunction is present in mild-moderate MS patients and this dysfunction can be detected by 3D-STE. Table 1 Parameters Control group Mild MS Moderate MS P LV GLS (%) 23.3 ± 2.08 18.9 ± 1.3 17.5 ± 1.8 &lt;0.001 LV torsion 1.5 ± 0.6 2.1 ± 0.6 2.6 ± 0.5 &lt;0.001 IVS LS (%) 23 ± 3.0% 20 ± 2.6 17.1 ± 2.9 &lt;0.001 RV FW LS (%) 25.4 ± 5 22.7 ± 3.2 21.1 ± 4.8 &lt;0.001 FW; free-wall, GLS; global longitudinal strain, IVS; interventricular septum, LV; left ventricular, RV; right ventricular Abstract 1187 Figure 1


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori B Croft ◽  
Parasuram Krishnamoorthy ◽  
Richard Ro ◽  
Malcolm Anastasius ◽  
Wenli Zhao ◽  
...  

COVID-19 infection can affect the cardiovascular system. We sought to determine if left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) is affected by COVID-19 and if this has prognostic implications. Materials & methods: Retrospective study, with LVGLS was measured in 58 COVID-19 patients. Patients discharged were compared with those who died. Results: The mean LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and LVGLS for the cohort was 52.1 and -12.9 ± 4.0%, respectively. Among 30 patients with preserved LVEF(>50%), LVGLS was -15.7 ± 2.8%, which is lower than the reference mean LVGLS for a normal, healthy population. There was no significant difference in LVGLS or LVEF when comparing patients who survived to discharge or died. Conclusion: LVGLS was reduced in COVID-19 patients, although not significantly lower in those who died compared with survivors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
I H Jung ◽  
Y S Byun ◽  
J H Park

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements no Background Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV GLS) offers sensitive and reproducible measurement of myocardial dysfunction. The authors sought to evaluate whether LV GLS at the time of diagnosis may predict LV reverse remodeling (LVRR) in DCM patients with sinus rhythm and also investigate the relationship between baseline LV GLS and follow-up LVEF. Methods We enrolled patients with DCM who had been initially diagnosed, evaluated, and followed at our institute. Results During the mean follow-up duration of 37.3 ± 21.7 months, LVRR occurred in 28% of patients (n = 45) within 14.7 ± 10.0 months of medical therapy. The initial LV ejection fraction (LVEF) of patients who recovered LV function was 26.1 ± 7.9% and was not different from the value of 27.1 ± 7.4% (p = 0.49) of those who did not recover. There was a moderate and highly significant correlation between baseline LV GLS and follow-up LVEF (r = 0.717; p &lt;0.001). Conclusion There was a significant correlation between baseline LV GLS and follow-up LVEF in this population. Baseline Follow-up Difference (95% CI) p-value All patients (n = 160) LVEDDI, mm/m2 35.6 ± 6.6 35.6 ± 6.6 -2.7 (-3.4 to -2.0) &lt;0.001 LVESDI, mm/m2 30.3 ± 6.1 26.6 ± 6.6 -3.7 (-4.6 to -2.8) &lt;0.001 LVEDVI, mL/m2 95.0 ± 30.7 74.3 ± 30.2 -20.7 (-25.6 to -15.8) &lt;0.001 LVESVI, mL/m2 70.0 ± 24.8 50.2 ± 26.8 -19.8 (-24.2 to -15.4) &lt;0.001 LVEF, % 26.8 ± 7.5 33.9 ± 12.6 7.2 (5.2 to 9.2) &lt;0.001 LV GLS (-%) 9.2 ± 3.1 11.0 ± 4.8 1.8 (1.3 to 2.2) &lt;0.001 Patients without LVRR (n = 115) LVEDDI, mm/m2 34.9 ± 6.8 34.1 ± 6.8 -0.8 (-1.3 to -0.3) 0.002 LVESDI, mm/m2 29.5 ± 6.1 28.4 ± 6.4 -1.4 (-1.8 to -0.4) 0.002 LVEDVI, mL/m2 92.0 ± 30.5 83.4 ± 29.8 -8.6 (-12.4 to -4.8) &lt;0.001 LVESVI, mL/m2 67.1 ± 24.4 59.5 ± 25.3 -7.6 (-10.9 to -4.3) &lt;0.001 LVEF, % 27.1 ± 7.4 27.8 ± 7.4 0.7 (-0.2 to 1.6) 0.126 LV GLS (-%) 8.2 ± 2.9 8.7 ± 3.2 0.5 (0.7 to 3.6) &lt;0.001 Patients with LVRR (n = 45) LVEDDI, mm/m2 37.4 ± 5.5 29.8 ± 5.2 -7.5 (-9.1 to -6.0) &lt;0.001 LVESDI, mm/m2 32.2 ± 5.7 21.9 ± 4.4 -10.3 (-11.9 to -8.6) &lt;0.001 LVEDVI, mL/m2 102.7 ± 30.2 51.1 ± 15.0 -51.7 (-61.6 to -41.7) &lt;0.001 LVESVI, mL/m2 77.3 ± 24.5 26.4 ± 11.3 -50.9 (-58.8 to -43.1) &lt;0.001 LVEF, % 26.1 ± 7.9 49.4 ± 9.5 23.9 (20.4 to 27.5) &lt;0.001 LV GLS (-%) 11.9 ± 1.6 16.9 ± 2.7 5.1 (4.2 to 5.9) &lt;0.001 Baseline and Follow-up LV Functional Echocardiographic Data Abstract P818 Figure.


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