Serial Assessment of Left Ventricular Remodeling by Measurement of Left Ventricular Torsion Using Speckle Tracking Echocardiography in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction

The relation between remodeling and left ventricular (LV) torsion has not yet been fully investigated. The aim of this study was to determine whether LV torsion assessed by speckle tracking imaging can predict progressive LV dilation after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). From January 2006 through June 2008, 91 patients with AMI who were successfully treated with primary coronary intervention underwent conventional and speckle tracking echocardiographies at initial presentation and 3 days and 6 months after first AMI. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on presence of LV remodeling (increase of LV end-diastolic volume >20%) at 6-month follow-up. LV remodeling developed in 23 patients. At initial presentation, LV end-diastolic volume was not significantly different between the no-remodeling and remodeling groups (91.27 ± 35.68 vs 85.74 ± 28.89 ml, p = 0.51), but LV torsion (2.23 ± 0.67 vs 1.70 ± 0.58°/cm, p