The findings of our study demonstrate that ASDI as determined by means of 3-D speckle area tracking imaging can predict response to CRT, and baseline ASDI may be capable of predicting LV reverse remodeling following CRT. This is the first study to assess the utility of novel 3-D speckle area tracking strain for predicting response to CRT and LV reverse remodeling.
Importance of Combined Approach for Predicting Response to CRT
CRT is an established therapeutic option for HF patients with severe symptoms and a wide QRS complex[
1‐
8]. Although initial results have been promising, roughly one-third of patients selected according to standard clinical criteria do not respond to CRT. Tissue Doppler imaging was useful to evaluate LV longitudinal function [
24], and a number of publications to quantify LV dyssynchrony and predict response to CRT has focused on LV longitudinal shortening velocities on tissue Doppler imaging from the apical views. However, the ability of echocardiographic measures of dyssynchrony, in particular tissue Doppler imaging to predict response to CRT, has recently been criticized as a result of the findings by the predictors of responders to CRT (PROSPECT) trial[
14]. On the contrary, speckle tracking strain has the advantage of differentiating active contraction from passive motion and is not affected by Doppler angle of incidence. Since response to CRT may be associated with LV mechanical dyssynchrony[
5,
6,
17,
25], LV lead position[
17,
26‐
29], scar burden or myocardial viability[
30‐
34], irreversibly advanced HF[
34], and AV and VV optimization, a comprehensive approach addressing these factors may well be required to minimize non-responders to CRT. The strain delay index reported by Lim et al[
9] and our relatively simple version of the strain dyssynchrony index[
10], both determined by 2-D speckle tracking strain, proved to be strong predictor of response to CRT. These two indexes combined thus constitute a marker of both LV mechanical dyssynchrony and residual myocardial contractility.
The LV myocardial function represents three different patterns of myocardial deformation, including radial direction (myocardial thickening), circumferential direction (myocardial shortening), and longitudinal direction (myocardial shortening). Because LV dyssynchrony is also a 3-D phenomenon, these three types of deformation do not provide the same information about the failing heart. STAR (the Speckle Tracking and Resynchronization) study, which is the recently conducted first prospective multi-centre study to assess the utility of radial, circumferential, transverse and longitudinal speckle tracking strain for predicting response to CRT and important long-term outcome events after CRT, verified the utility of multidirectional analysis for the quantification of LV dyssynchrony[
25]. This study demonstrated that patients who lacked dyssynchrony before CRT, as determined by either the 2-D radial or transverse speckle tracking strain approach, suffered had serious unfavorable clinical events three times more frequently than those with significant baseline dyssynchrony. Furthermore, lack of dyssynchrony before CRT, as determined by the combined use of 2-D radial and transverse speckle tracking strains, was associated with implantation of a left ventricular assist device, heart transplant or death in approximately 50% of patients, in contrast to these unfavorable events occurring in 11-13% of patients if baseline 2-D radial or transverse speckle tracking dyssynchrony were present. Moreover, we previously reported that combining assessment of 2-D radial, circumferential, and longitudinal strain dyssynchrony indexes can enhance the prediction of CRT responders[
10].
In this study, we found that baseline ASDI, as determined by means of novel 3-D speckle area tracking strain can predict response to CRT as well as predict LV reverse remodeling following CRT. 3-D area strain may provide new and more predictive endocardial information, because 3-D area strain coupled with both 3-D longitudinal and circumferential factors pertaining to the endocardium is considered to be the most sensitive to changes in myocardial function, especially in the failing heart or as a result of ischemia. 3-D area strain thus appears to be the ideal parameter to express LV dyssynchorny[
35]. Furthermore, ASDI, which represents circumferential and longitudinal mechanical dyssynchrony and residual endomyocardial function, provide more comprehensive information for predicting response to CRT than do other methods.
3-D speckle tracking strain method was a novel developed technology and used in a few human studies. The potential advantages of 3-D speckle strain method were expression of myocardial/endocardial function of the whole heart, independency of tomographic imaging planes, and being able to analyze regional ventricular function using 3 different 3-D strains (radial/transverse, circumferential, and longitudinal) from the same heart beat acquisition. On the contrary, the potential disadvantages were relatively low volume rate of 25-30 volume/sec and relatively low spatial resolution. However, these disadvantages will be improved with technical development in the future.
Clinical implications
3-D speckle tracking is a simple, feasible, and reproducible method for quantifying LV dyssynchrony[
11,
12], and it is considered to be faster than 2-D speckle tracking strain analysis[
36]. As previously mentioned, comprehensive assessment may be crucial for selecting HF patients who will benefit most from CRT. It therefore appears that ASDI, which represents circumferential and longitudinal mechanical dyssynchrony as well as residual endomyocardial function, could be an alternative method for the assessment of HF patients in order to minimize non-responders to CRT. In view of the present study, the clinical algorithm is that a patient, whose ASDI is >3.8%, should be considered undergoing CRT.
Study Limitations
Because the area tracking by means of 3-D speckle tracking system was developed only recently, this study covered a very small number of patients in a single-center study. Future studies of larger patient populations are therefore needed to test the accuracy of ASDI for predicting response to CRT and LV reverse remodeling. Moreover, the problem of the small number of the patients may be enhanced by the heterogeneous study population including 3 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and 4 patients with previously undergone implantation of a permanent RV pacing device. However, previous investigators have demonstrated that HF patients with RV pacing had similar dyssynchronous patterns and similar EF response and long-term outcome compared to those with left bundle branch block[
11]. A limitation of the image acquisition for 3-D speckle tracking is the relatively slow volume rate of 25 to 30 volumes/s. The much slower volume rates of 3-D speckle tracking system compared to 2-D may limit analysis of rapid events such as isovolumic contraction and relaxation phase. Nevertheless, the reproducibility of ASDI in this study was acceptable. Finally, this 3-D speckle tracking strain methodology has been validated against sonomicrometry in animals[
37], but there is no true non-invasive "gold standard" technique that can be used in humans to validate regional ventricular function. Therefore, this 3-D speckle tracking strain method does not establish the accuracy in humans.