ECGs of structural heart disease: Part 1

Singapore Medical Journal5212855-859SIMJ

Challenges in the management of aortic coarctation in the elderly: Native coarctation complicated by severe calcification

Singapore Medical Journal541e5-e8SIMJ

Mid-term study of transcatheter aortic valve implantation in an Asian population with severe aortic stenosis: Two-year Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 outcomes

10.11622/smedj.2016128Singapore Medical Journal589543-550SIMJ

Echocardiographic Global Longitudinal Strain Is Associated With Myocardial Fibrosis and Predicts Outcomes in Aortic Stenosis

Aims: Left ventricular ejection fraction is the conventional measure used to guide heart failure management, regardless of underlying etiology. Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a more sensitive measure of intrinsic myocardial function. We aim to establish LV-GLS as a marker of replacement myocardial fibrosis on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and validate the prognostic value of LV-GLS thresholds associated with fibrosis.Methods and results: LV-GLS thresholds of replacement fibrosis were established in the derivation cohort: 151 patients (57 +/- 10 years; 58% males) with hypertension who underwent STE to measure LV-GLS and CMR. Prognostic value of the thresholds was validated in a separate outcome cohort: 261 patients with moderate-severe aortic stenosis (AS; 71 +/- 12 years; 58% males; NYHA functional class I-II) and preserved LVEF >= 50%. Primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular mortality, heart failure hospitalization, and myocardial infarction. In the derivation cohort, LV-GLS demonstrated good discrimination (c-statistics 0.74 [0.66-0.83]; P -15.0% (corresponding to 95% specificity to rule-in myocardial fibrosis) had the worst outcomes compared to patients with LV-GLS < -21.0% (corresponding to 95% sensitivity to rule-out myocardial fibrosis) and those between -21.0 and -15.0% (log-rank P < 0.001). LV-GLS offered independent prognostic value over clinical variables, AS severity and echocardiographic LV mass and E/e '.Conclusion: LV-GLS thresholds associated with replacement myocardial fibrosis is a novel approach to risk-stratify patients with AS and preserved LVEF.Cardiolog