Scorza R, Shahgaldi K, Rosenqvist M, Frykman V. Evaluation of patients with high burden of premature ventricular contractions by comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography.
IJC HEART & VASCULATURE 2022;
42:101124. [PMID:
36161233 PMCID:
PMC9489744 DOI:
10.1016/j.ijcha.2022.101124]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Background
The prevalence and prognosis of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) among individuals without structural heart disease are uncertain. Standard transthoracic echocardiography is a common method in evaluation of underlying cardiovascular disease and is recommended as a diagnostic method in PVC patients. However, it is unclear whether comprehensive echocardiographic examination can identify pathological findings in PVC patients with a normal standard echocardiogram.
Method
We included forty consecutive patients with a high PVC burden (>10,000 PVCs/day) and normal findings at a standard echocardiogram and exercise test. All subjects were investigated by a comprehensive echocardiographic examination using parameters usually not included in a routine work-up. We compared the results with 22 age and sex-matched controls.
Results
In six additional parameters–global longitudinal strain, right ventricular strain, septal-lateral delay, ventricular-arterial coupling, integrated backscatter and left atrial activation time–a statistically significant difference was shown between PVC patients and controls. Among these parameters, global longitudinal strain had a high reliability between operators.
Conclusions
Despite normal findings at standard echocardiography, the PVC group showed signs of impaired heart function when more comprehensive echocardiography parameters were used.
Collapse