Subcostal View-Based Longitudinal Strain in Patients With Breast Cancer Is an Alternative to Conventional Apical View-Based Longitudinal Strain

Preoperative and mid-term right ventricular systolic function assessment, at rest and during exercise, with speckle-tracking echocardiography after left ventricular assist device implantation

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to compare pre- and postoperative resting as well as postprocedural resting and exertional right ventricular speckle-tracking echocardiographic parameters at a mid-term follow-up after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation.

METHODS

Patients with implanted third-generation LVADs with hydrodynamic bearings were prospectively enrolled (NCT05063006). Myocardial deformation was evaluated before pump implantation and at least three months after the procedure, both at rest and during exercise.

RESULTS

We included 22 patients, 7.3 months (IQR, 4.7-10.2) after the surgery. The mean age was 58.4 ± 7 years, 95.5% were men, and 45.5% had dilated cardiomyopathy. The RV strain analysis was feasible in all subjects both at rest and during exercise. The RV free wall strain (RVFWS) worsened from -13% (IQR, -17.3 to -10.9) to -11.3% (IQR, -12.9 to -6; p = 0.033) after LVAD implantation with a particular decline in the apical RV segment [-11.3% (IQR, -16.4 to -6.2) vs -7.8% (IQR, -11.7 to -3.9; p = 0.012)]. The RV four-chamber longitudinal strain (RV4CSL) remained unchanged [-8.5% (IQR, -10.8 to -6.9) vs -7.3% (IQR, -9.8 to -4.7; p = 0.184)]. Neither RVFWS (-11.3% (IQR, -12.9 to -6) vs -9.9% (IQR, -13.5 to -7.5; p = 0.077) nor RV4CSL [-7.3% (IQR, -9.8 to -4.7) vs -7.9% (IQR, -9.8 to -6.3; p = 0.548)] changed during the exercise test.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients who are pump-supported, the right ventricular free wall strain tends to worsen after LVAD implantation and remains unchanged during a cycle ergometer stress test.

Challenges in Cardiovascular Imaging in Women with Breast Cancer

Cardiovascular imaging in breast cancer patients is paramount for the surveillance of cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD); however, it comes with specific limitations. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review aims to describe the unique challenges faced in cardiovascular imaging of breast cancer patients, discuss evidence to support the utility of various imaging modalities, and provide solutions for improvement in imaging this unique population. RECENT FINDINGS: Updated clinical society guidelines have introduced more unifying surveillance of CTRCD, although there remains a lack of a universally accepted definition. Traditional and novel multi-modality imaging can be used to detect CTRCD and myocarditis in breast cancer patients. Cardiovascular imaging in breast cancer patients is difficult due to reconstructive surgery. Although echocardiography with myocardial strain is the cornerstone, multi-modality imaging can be used to evaluate for CTRCD and myocarditis. Novel imaging techniques to improve the diagnosis of cardiotoxicities in breast cancer patients are needed.

Imaging of heart disease in women: review and case presentation

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Although major diagnostic and therapeutic advances have significantly improved the prognosis of patients with CVD in the past decades, these advances have less benefited women than age-matched men. Noninvasive cardiac imaging plays a key role in the diagnosis of CVD. Despite shared imaging features and strategies between both sexes, there are critical sex disparities that warrant careful consideration, related to the selection of the most suited imaging techniques, to technical limitations, and to specific diseases that are overrepresented in the female population. Taking these sex disparities into consideration holds promise to improve management and alleviate the burden of CVD in women. In this review, we summarize the specific features of cardiac imaging in four of the most common presentations of CVD in the female population including coronary artery disease, heart failure, pregnancy complications, and heart disease in oncology, thereby highlighting contemporary strengths and limitations. We further propose diagnostic algorithms tailored to women that might help in selecting the most appropriate imaging modality.

Echocardiography image quality of global longitudinal strain in cardio-oncology: a prospective real-world investigation

BACKGROUND

Left-ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) has been reported to be a robust and sensitive marker of chemotherapy-induced cardiac damage. Image quality is paramount for accurate GLS measurements. In real-world cardio-oncology settings, the incidence of suboptimal echocardiography quality and its significance in clinical decision-making have not been well investigated. This prospective study examined the incidence and impact of suboptimal echocardiographic image quality on detecting subtle myocardial damage by chemotherapy.

METHODS

Seventy-seven consecutive patients with breast cancer (age, 52 ± 12 years, 76 women, 33 with left-sided breast cancer) were included in this study. Echocardiography was performed at 3-month intervals 1 year before and after chemotherapy initiation. We classified the image quality of each echocardiographic acquisition into three groups: optimal, suboptimal, or inadequate for speckle tracking.

RESULTS

Among the 376 examinations obtained during the cardiac monitoring, the image quality in 194 (52%) was optimal, suboptimal in 159 (42%), and inadequate in 23 (6%). The interobserver reproducibility was 0.91 in the optimal and 0.21 in the suboptimal group. In contrast, the optimal group showed progressive impairment in both GLS (p = 0.001) and LV ejection fraction (LVEF) (p < 0.001) during follow-up, and the suboptimal group showed a progressive decrease in LVEF (p = 0.006), but not in GLS (p = 0.13). Left-sided mammotomy and/or reconstruction surgery and high body mass index were significant determinants of suboptimal image quality.

CONCLUSIONS

Even in cases of minor image quality impairment, the physician should assess GLS carefully to avoid errors in crucial clinical decision-making.

Accuracy of fully automated right ventricular quantification software with 3D echocardiography: direct comparison with cardiac magnetic resonance and semi-automated quantification software

AIMS

The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy and reproducibility of a novel, fully automated 3D echocardiography (3DE) right ventricular (RV) quantification software compared with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and semi-automated 3DE RV quantification software.

METHODS AND RESULTS

RV volumes and the RV ejection fraction (RVEF) were measured using a fully automated software (Philips), a semi-automated software (TomTec), and CMR in 100 patients who had undergone both CMR and 3DE examinations on the same day. The feasibility of the fully automated software was 91%. Although the fully automated software, without any manual editing, significantly underestimated RV end-diastolic volume (bias: -12.6 mL, P < 0.001) and stroke volume (-5.1 mL, P < 0.001) compared with CMR, there were good correlations between the two modalities (r = 0.82 and 0.78). No significant differences in RVEF between the fully automated software and CMR were observed, and there was a fair correlation (r = 0.72). The RVEF determined by the semi-automated software was significantly larger than that by CMR or the fully automated software (P < 0.001). The fully automated software had a shorter analysis time compared with the semi-automated software (15 s vs. 120 s, P < 0.001) and had a good reproducibility.

CONCLUSION

A novel, fully automated 3DE RV quantification software underestimated RV volumes but successfully approximated RVEF when compared with CMR. No inferiority of this software was observed when compared with the semi-automated software. Rapid analysis and higher reproducibility also support the routine adoption of this method in the daily clinical workflow.

Utility of echocardiographic right ventricular subcostal strain in critical care

AIMS

Right ventricular (RV) strain is a known predictor of outcomes in various heart and lung pathologies but has been considered too technically challenging for routine use in critical care. We examined whether RV strain acquired from the subcostal view, frequently more accessible in the critically ill, is an alternative to conventionally derived RV strain in intensive care.

METHODS AND RESULTS

RV strain data were acquired from apical and subcostal views on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in 94 patients (35% female), mean age 50.5 ± 15.2 years, venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VVECMO) (44%). RV strain values from the apical (mean ± standard deviation; -20.4 ± 6.7) and subcostal views (-21.1 ± 7) were highly correlated (Pearson's r -0.89, P < 0.001). RV subcostal strain correlated moderately well with other echocardiography parameters including tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (r -0.44, P < 0.001), RV systolic velocity (rho = -0.51, P < 0.001), fractional area change (r -0.66, P < 0.01), and RV outflow tract velocity time integral (r -0.49, P < 0.001). VVECMO was associated with higher RV subcostal strain (non-VVECMO -19.6 ± 6.7 vs. VVECMO -23.2 ± 7, P = 0.01) but not apical RV strain. On univariate analysis, RV subcostal strain was weakly associated with survival at 30 days (R2 = 0.04, P = 0.05, odds ratio =1.08) while apical RV was not (P = 0.16).

CONCLUSION 

RV subcostal deformation imaging is a reliable surrogate for conventionally derived strain in critical care and may in time prove to be a useful diagnostic marker in this cohort.

Inter-vendor variability and reproducibility of subcostal left ventricular longitudinal strain

Left ventricular longitudinal strain (LVLS) performed using subcostal windows is a novel alternative for patients who require strain imaging but have poor apical windows. We investigated the reproducibility and inter-vendor variability of subcostal LVLS. One hundred and twenty-four echocardiographic studies were analysed from 73 women with early stage HER2-positive breast cancer. Speckle tracking strain was performed offline using EchoPAC and TomTec on subcostal 4-chamber and 3-chamber views to obtain subcostal 4-chamber (SC4_LS) and 3-chamber (SC3_LS) LVLS which was then averaged (SCav_LS). Reproducibility of subcostal single chamber and averaged LVLS were assessed. Measurements between platforms were compared. Strain was reported in absolute magnitude. EchoPAC measurements of SC3_LS (20.5 ± 2.4% vs. 21.2 ± 2.5%, p = 0.002) and SCav_LS (20.9 ± 2.1% vs. 21.2 ± 2.1%, p = 0.02) were lower than TomTec measurements while SC4_LS was similar (21.3 ± 2.7% vs. 21.3 ± 2.5%, p = 0.94). Mean differences between EchoPAC and TomTec were ≤ 0.6% strain units for all subcostal LVLS measurements; SCav_LS showed the narrowest limits of agreement (LOA) (mean difference - 0.3%, LOA - 3.2 to 2.6%). EchoPAC and TomTec measurements of SCav_LS showed good correlation (r = 0.76, p < 0.001). Intra-observer and inter-observer analysis showed good reproducibility. Inter-observer variability was lower than inter-vendor variability; SCav_LS was most reproducible: inter-observer relative mean error was 3.6% for EchoPAC and 4.3% for TomTec and inter-observer LOA were ± 2.1% for EchoPAC and ± 2.6% for TomTec. Averaged subcostal LVLS was highly reproducible with inter-observer variability comparable to GLS. Inter-vendor differences in averaged subcostal LVLS were small but statistically significant.

Usefulness of Stress Echocardiography in the Management of Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs

In recent years, the survival of patients with cancer has improved thanks to advances in antineoplastic therapeutic protocols. This has led to an increasing burden of cardiovascular complications related to cancer treatment. Therefore, a new branch of cardiology has been created, "cardio-oncology," with the aims of preventing cardiovascular complications related to antineoplastic treatment, achieving early diagnosis and treatment of any complications, and allowing completion of the expected antineoplastic treatment. Stress echocardiography has a pivotal role in achieving a timely diagnosis of coronary artery disease and thus is the best management approach in this clinical setting. Atherosclerotic processes can be exacerbated by both chemotherapy and chest irradiation in patients with cancer, even several years after anticancer treatment completion. Moreover, stress echocardiography has many other potential applications, such as in the evaluation of subclinical left ventricular dysfunction and contractile reserve in patients treated with anticancer drugs that have the potential to induce myocardial damage, as well as evaluating valve disease. The objective of this review is to delineate the role of stress echocardiography in cardio-oncology.