Comprehensive assessment of left ventricular geometry and function in healthy subjects using three-dimensional echocardiography

Recent research has identified significant inconsistency for 2D and 3D strain measurements among vendors, reflecting differences in myocardial tracking, strain computation and display. This study is the first to report reference values for 3D LV parameters, including strain, using a recently developed commercially available platform for 3D LV quantitation. Methods: Eighty healthy volunteers (i.e. no cardiovascular risk factors, symptoms, signs or medication), aged 37+11 (range 18-65 years) with good acoustic window were prospectively enrolled. 3 subjects were excluded due to previously unknown echo abnormalities or unfeasible global strain analysis. 4-beat LV full-volume data sets (31+2 vps) were acquired with Vivid E9 scanner equipped with 4V probe and analyzed offline with EchoPac BT 11 software (GE Healthcare, N). Peak global LV strain components (longitudinal-LS, circumferential-CS, radial-RS, and area strain-AS), as well as LV volumes, ejection fraction, mass and sphericity were obtained from a single 3D LV fullvolume acquisition. Reproducibility of LV parameters was assessed on 20 subjects. Results: A 3D LV data set required ,1 min for acquisition and ,4 min for analysis. The values of LV parameters obtained from 77 healthy subjects and their reproducibility are listed in Table. Conclusion. 3D STE is a time-saving and highly reproducible tool for LV quantitation in clinical settings. This study provides the normal ranges and variability of LV parameters pertaining to the specific 3D speckle-tracking platform used in our population