Feasibility of color Doppler tissue velocity imaging for assessment of regional timing of left ventricular longitudinal movement

ms for simultaneous measurement of the temporal characteristics of regional left ventricular ( LV) tissue velocities at different LV sites was examined. Methods and results - In 20 subjects with structurally normal hearts, inter- and intraobserver agreement and the beat- to- beat variation were tested in c- TVI profiles from basal and mid- LV segments of the interventricular septum ( IS) and of the lateral free wall ( LFW). For peak tissue velocities a mean error of less than 1 cm/ s was demonstrated. For systolic regional LV velocity time difference, the mean error was +/- 5 ms, with the best agreement when sampling from basal LV sites. For diastolic regional LV velocity time differences, the mean error was +/- 12 ms. The longitudinal LV movement pattern demonstrated a pattern of incremental tissue velocity from basal to mid- LV, and from IS to LFW sites. Conclusion - The c- TVI method has acceptable interand intraobserver agreement and is sufficiently accurate to disclose regional time aspects of LV contraction and relaxation.