P2.23 ASSESSING MYOCARDIAL FUNCTION USING SPECKLE-TRACKING ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY IN AN OLDER POPULATION

Abstract

Background: Left ventricular systolic dysfunction, an independent predictor of heart failure (HF) and cardiovascular mortality, may be worse in South Asians and African-Caribbeans (than Europeans) as they have more adverse cardiovascular risk factor profiles. Objectives: We sought to investigate ethnic differences in speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE)-derived strain (ε) and strain rate (SR) in a community-based cohort of European, South Asian and African-Caribbean older men, and the role of CVD risk factors in accounting for these differences. Methods and results: We recruited 339 men (113 from each ethnic group) with echocardiographic data from the Southall and Brent REvisited (SABRE) cohort, and measured peak systolic longitudinal ε and SR. Anthropometric, haemodynamic, fasting blood and conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiographic data were also collected. There were no significant differences in peak systolic longitudinal ε between Europeans (mean±SD, −17.7±3.1%), South Asians (−16.9±2.9%) and African-Caribbeans (−17.1±3.0%) (p=0.200). Peak systolic longitudinal SR also showed no significant ethnic variation (Europeans: −0.50±0.12s−1, South Asians: −0.48±0.10s−1, African-Caribbeans: −0.47±0.11s−1, p=0.198). Age-adjusted peak systolic longitudinal SR and (tissue Doppler-derived) peak systolic myocardial velocity (s’) were compared in subjects with and without hypertension, coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes mellitus. Subjects with hypertension and CHD had an attenuated SR and s’ compared to those without, but diabetes mellitus was associated with a lower s’ only. P-values were more significant for s’ than SR. Conclusions: There were no significant ethnic differences in longitudinal ε & SR. SR could detect myocardial dysfunction in subjects with CHD and hypertension, but was inferior to s’.