Twenty patients with previously established ARVC were evaluated by 3-dimensional echocardiography and DTI, and compared with 32 age- and sex-matched control subjects.
Using 3-dimensional echocardiography, patients with ARVC had a decreased RV ejection fraction (0.47 ¡À 0.08 vs 0.53 ¡À 0.05, P < .01), and a decreased peak lateral systolic annular velocity by pulsed wave imaging of both the RV (11.9 ¡À 2.6 vs 15.1 ¡À 3.7 cm/s, P < .01) and the left ventricle (7.0 ¡À 2.6 vs 9.5 ¡À 1.9 cm/s, P < .01). DTI showed decreased regional systolic strain, but with wide variation in the measurements.
Three-dimensional echocardiography identifies decreased RV ejection fraction in ARVC. Assessment of regional contractility by DTI is limited by wide variation. Echocardiographic evaluation of the longitudinal motility appears to be a sensitive marker of preclinical left ventricular involvement.