Color Doppler tissue velocity imaging demonstrates significant asynchronous regional left ventricular contraction and relaxation in patients with bundle branch block and heart failure compared with control subjects.

Bundle branch block in patients with severe heart failure (HF) may result in asynchronous regional left ventricular (LV) contraction. Colour Doppler tissue velocity imaging (c-TVI) allows tissue velocity profiles to be measured with a resolution of 10 ms. Normal subjects (n = 30) showed a synchronous regional longitudinal LV pattern of movement, and HF patients with bundle branch block (n = 30) showed asynchronous contraction and relaxation patterns which were quantified by c-TVI as ranging from -22 to 19 ms. This asynchronous LV contraction probably contributes to the deterioration of LV function in HF patients.