Assessment of Myocardial Contractility using 2D and 3D Speckle Tracking

Early detection of myocardial damage in patients without clinical symptoms is an important advantage of myocardial strain detection methods. This review addresses contemporary aspects of the assessment of left ventricular myocardial contractile function using ultrasound investigations with additional methods. Overcoming the limitations of the previous method, i.e., tissue Doppler imaging, two-dimensional and three-dimensional speckle tracking methods provide rapid, semiautomatic, and highly reproducible evaluation of myocardial strain. These methods provide unique information on the orientation of myocardial fibers, providing for evaluation of a novel parameter — strain area — to which the attention of Russian manufacturers of ultrasound equipment should be drawn. In addition, the limitations and potentials of these diagnostic methods are discussed.