Changes in the Doppler myocardial performance index during dobutamine echocardiography: association with neurohormonal activation and prognosis after acute myocardial infarction

Early anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity monitored by echocardiographic Doppler parameters combined with serum hs-cTnT

PURPOSE

As growing numbers of long-term cancer survivors faced with the cardiac side effects by anthracycline treatment, it is necessary to explore the optimal monitoring method for the early detection of cardiac toxicity.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 82 consecutive patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with chemotherapy. Echocardiographic Doppler imaging-derived Tei index and mitral annular peak systolic velocity (Sm) measured by tissue Doppler imaging TDI, serum high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) levels, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by multigated radionuclide angiography (MUGA) were obtained before, after 2-4, and after 6-8 chemotherapy cycles. Cardiotoxicity was defined as a relative reduction of LVEF ≥10% from the baseline or LVEF <50% as measured by MUGA.

RESULTS

Following chemotherapy, 24 (29.3%) patients developed detectable cardiac abnormality during the treatment. Five (6.1%) patients' cardiac function changed from normal baseline LVEF to <50% after the chemotherapy. Echocardiographic pulse wave Doppler Tei index (PW Tei index) (baseline 0.347 ± 0.115 vs 2-4 cycles 0.459 ± 0.161 vs 6-8 cycles 0.424 ± 0.139, P = .000) inversely correlated with systolic (P < .001) and diastolic dysfunction (P < .001). Serum hs-cTnT levels increased significantly following chemotherapy after 2-4 cycles of chemotherapy with anthracycline. The increase in PW Tei index of 0.095 [sensitivity, 69.2%; specificity, 64.5%; area under the curve (AUC) = 0.697; P = .005] and the Sm < 13.65 cm/s (sensitivity, 66.7%; specificity, 71%; AUC = 0.682; P = .009) combined with elevation of serum hs-cTnT level of 0.0075 ng/mL (sensitivity, 69.2%; specificity, 83.9%; AUC = 0.790; P < .001) after 2-4 chemotherapy cycles from the baseline values can reliably predict cardiotoxicity.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated that echocardiographic PW Doppler-derived Tei index, and TDI-derived Sm, combined with serum hs-cTnT level can be obtained in outpatient settings to monitor early cardiac toxicity induced by anthracycline therapy.

Haemodynamic response during low-dose dobutamine infusion in patients with chronic systolic heart failure: comparison of echocardiographic and invasive measurements

AIMS

To investigate whether left ventricular (LV) systolic shortening velocity (s'), diastolic lengthening velocity (e'), and non-invasively estimated LV filling pressure (E/e') during low-dose dobutamine echocardiography (LDDE) reflect invasive measures of cardiac output and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) in stable patients with chronic systolic heart failure.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Fourteen patients with heart failure (aged 65 ± 8 years, LVEF 36 ± 8%) underwent simultaneous tissue Doppler echocardiography and invasive measurements of cardiac output and PCWP by right heart catheterization at rest and during dobutamine infusion at rates of 10 and 20 µg/kg/min. Cardiac output increased from rest to peak dobutamine (4.9 ± 1.2 to 6.6 ± 2.0 L/min, P < 0.001) and correlated with the peak systolic tissue velocity (s') at rest (R = 0.61, P = 0.02) and during dobutamine stimulation (R = 0.79, P < 0.001). Increases in early diastolic mitral inflow (E, 74.9 ± 29.0-90.8 ± 29.5 cm/s) and LV lengthening (e', 6.5 ± 2.4-8.2 ± 2.8 cm/s) velocities were observed during LDDE leaving the E/e' ratio unchanged. Although a mean PCWP was also unchanged from rest to peak dobutamine (16.6 ± 8.3-14.2 ± 9.2, P = 0.25), E/e' and PCWP only correlated at rest (R = 0.64, P = 0.014).

CONCLUSION

The LV systolic shortening velocity is closely associated with cardiac output during LDDE in CHF patients. Dobutamine stimulation increases early diastolic mitral inflow and lengthening velocities, but the E/e' ratio does not reflect the PCWP during LDDE, which warrants some caution in converting changes in E/e' into changes in LV filling pressure. The sample size is, however, small and the observation need to be confirmed in a larger population.

Reversible pulmonary trunk banding: VII. Stress echocardiographic assessment of rapid ventricular hypertrophy in young goats

BACKGROUND

Ventricle retraining with abrupt systolic overload can cause myocardial edema and necrosis, followed by late ventricular failure. Intermittent systolic overload could minimize the inadequacy of conventional pulmonary artery banding. The present study compared ventricle function under dobutamine stress in 2 protocols of systolic overload in young goats.

METHODS

Nineteen young goats were divided into 3 groups: sham (n = 7; no systolic pressure overload), continuous (n = 6; systolic overload maintained for 96 hours), and intermittent (n = 6; 4 periods of 12-hour systolic overload, paired with a 12-hour resting period). Echocardiographic and hemodynamic evaluations were performed daily. The myocardial performance index and ejection fraction were evaluated at rest and during dobutamine stress. The goats were then killed for morphologic evaluation.

RESULTS

The intermittent group underwent less systolic overload than the continuous group (P < .05). Nevertheless, both groups had increased right ventricular and septal masses compared with the sham group (P < .0002). Echocardiography revealed a major increase in right ventricular wall thickness in the intermittent group (+64.8% ± 23.37%) compared with the continuous group (+43.9% ± 19.26%; P = .015). Only the continuous group remained with significant right ventricular dilation throughout the protocol (P < .001). The intermittent group had a significantly better myocardial performance index at the end of the protocol, under resting and dobutamine infusion, compared with the continuous group (P < .012).

CONCLUSIONS

Both systolic overload protocols have induced rapid right ventricular hypertrophy. However, only the intermittent group had better preservation of right ventricular function at the end of the protocol, both at rest and during dobutamine infusion.

Prediction of myocardial recovery by dobutamine magnetic resonance imaging and delayed enhancement early after reperfused acute myocardial infarction

The purpose was to study dobutamine magnetic resonance cine imaging (DOB-MRI) and delayed myocardial contrast enhancement (DE) early after reperfused acute myocardial infarction (AMI) for the predicion of segmental myocardial recovery and to find the optimal dose of dobutamine. Fifty patients (56+/-12 years, 42 males) with reperfused AMI underwent DOB-MRI and DE studies 3.5 (1-19) days after reperfusion. In DOB-MRI systolic wall thickening (SWT) was measured in 18 segments at rest and during dobutamine at 5, 10 and 20 microg*kg(-1)*min(-1). Dysfunctional segments were identified and the extent of DE was measured for each segment. Segmental recovery was examined after 8 (5-15) months. Two hundred-forty-eight segments were dysfunctional with presence of DE in 193. DOB-MRI showed the best prediction of recovery at 10 microg*kg(-1)*min(-1) of dobutamine with sensitivity of 67%, specificity of 63% and accuracy of 66% using a cut-off value for SWT of 2.0 mm. DE revealed a sensitivity of 68%, specificity of 65% and accuracy of 67% using a cut-off value of 46%. Combined analysis of DOB-MRI and DE did not improve diagnostic performance. Early prediction of segmental myocardial recovery after AMI is possible with DOB-MRI and DE. No improvement is achieved by dobutamine >10 microg*kg(-1)*min(-1) or a combination of DOB-MRI and DE.