TIME COURSE OF FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY OF HIBERNATING MYOCARDIUM – IS IT ALWAYS CORRECTLY ASSESSED BY CONVENTIONAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY?
Abstract:
Identification of viable myocardium in patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction secondary to coronary artery disease has an outstanding importance in establishing the optimal treatment strategy. We report the case of patients with “two types of lesions”: one with a clear indication for revascularisation, and the other requiring additional imaging tests to assess myocardial viability. For this, a dobutamine stress echocardiography with a myocardial contrast agent was performed, and the presence of viable tissue was found in more than three segments. At the one-month and three-month follow-up, the patient was asymptomatic, and bidimensional echocardiographic assessment showed no improvement, but after administration of the myocardial contrast agent (Sonovue), significant improvement of the segmental wall motion score was found. Adding contrast agents to conventional echocardiography can establish the extent of residual myocardial viability and assess resting LV function more accurately than 2D echocardiography.
full text article in English (.EN) |