Left ventricular longitudinal function assessment in rabbits after acute occlusion of left anterior descending coronary artery by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging.

ABSTACT: BACKGROUND: To evaluate the left ventricular (LV) longitudinal function changes in rabbits after acute occlusion of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI).

METHODS: Forty-eight New Zealand white rabbits underwent echocardiography examination. EchoPAC was used to measure LV peak systolic longitudinal strain (LS) of the endocardium, middle myocardium, and epicardium, peak longitudinal strain rate (LSr), segmental and global longitudinal rotation (LR) degrees. Ligated the LAD and repeated all measurements after 10 min.

RESULTS: Peak LS and LSr were significantly different between the preoperative and postoperative rabbits among most LV walls (P < 0.05). In apical four-chamber view, there was significant difference in the degrees of rotation of the LV lateral wall in preoperative and postoperative rabbits (P < 0.05). In apical three-chamber view, the rotation degrees of the posterior wall and the LR were significantly lower in the postoperative than in the preoperative (P < 0.001). In apical two-chamber view, the rotation degrees of the inferior wall and the LR were significantly lower in the postoperative (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Left ventricular function was impaired after acute occlusion of LAD. Segmental rotational degrees and changes in LR could be useful indicators of cardiac function during the early phases of acute myocardial ischemia.