Evaluation of left ventricular twist in acute myocardial infarction patients using speckle tracking imaging.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the differences of left ventricular (LV) twist and untwisting rate in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) as compared with healthy subjects by means of Speckle Tracking Imaging (STI). 45 AMI patients (AMI group) and 48 healthy subjects (NOR group) were studied. Two-dimensional STI was performed in all patients. Peak apical rotation, peak basal rotation, peak LV twist, peak basal untwisting rate, peak apical untwisting rate, peak LV untwisting rate, time to peak LV twist, and untwisting rate were measured. In comparison with the NOR group, peak LV rotational parameters were found to be decreased in the AMI group (P < 0.01). A strong correlation was found between the peak LV twist and LV ejection fraction in the overall study population (P < 0.001). The LV twist is strongly related to LV systolic function, and the impairment of LV function observed in patients with AMI is associated with a decrease of LV twist and untwist rate. The STI appears to accurately evaluate LV function.