Quantitative assessment of the rotation and twist of the left ventricle during dobutamine stress echocardiography: a comparison of patients with and without significant coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND The rotation and twist of the left ventricle (LV) have been comprehensively evaluated at rest. However, little is known about rotational mechanics during dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE). AIMS We aimed to quantify and compare the basal and apical rotation and twist of the LV at rest as well as at the peak and recovery stages of DSE in patients with and without coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS We enrolled 91 patients, including 48 patients with CAD and 43 patients without CAD (mean [SD] age, 62 [9] years and 61 [10] years, respectively). Coronary artery disease was defined as the presence of stenoses of 50% or more in the left main coronary artery and/or stenoses of 70% or more in other epicardial arteries. Rotation was measured by 2-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography, and twist was calculated as the difference between the basal and apical rotation. RESULTS Neither rotation nor twist differed between patients with and without CAD at rest, although apical rotation was significantly greater in the CAD group at peak DSE (mean [SD], 5.43 degrees [3.45 degrees] vs 3.71 degrees [3.52 degrees], P = 0.01) and at recovery (mean [SD], 5.05 degrees [3.65 degrees] vs 2.87 degrees [2.73 degrees], P < 0.01). On the contrary, the absolute value for basal rotation at recovery was higher in patients without CAD (mean [SD], 3.87 degrees [3.37 degrees] vs 2.63 degrees [2.43 degrees], P = 0.03). In both groups, the rotation and twist did not change significantly during the dobutamine challenge. CONCLUSIONS During DSE, we observed differences in LV rotation between patients with and without CAD, revealing the effect of ischemia on deformation parameters.