American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology
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Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. · May 2014
High-frequency speckle tracking echocardiography in the assessment of left ventricular function and remodeling after murine myocardial infarction.
The objectives of this study were to assess the feasibility and accuracy of high-frequency speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) in a murine model of myocardial infarction (MI). STE is used clinically to quantify global and regional cardiac function, but its application in mice is challenging because of the small cardiac size and rapid heart rates. A high-frequency micro-ultrasound system with STE (Visualsonics Vevo 2100) was compared against magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the assessment of global left ventricular (LV) size and function after murine MI. ⋯ Strain-derived parameters of dyssynchrony were significantly increased in the MI group (P < 0.01). Analysis time for STE was 210 ± 45 s with acceptable inter- and intraobserver variability. In conclusion, high-frequency STE enables quantitative assessment of regional and global function in the remodeling murine LV after MI.