Myocardial Postsystolic Shortening and Early Systolic Lengthening: Current Status and Future Directions

Abstract

The concept of paradoxical myocardial deformation, commonly referred to as postsystolic shortening and early systolic lengthening, was originally described in the 1970s when assessed by invasive cardiac methods, such as ventriculograms, in patients with ischemia and animal experimental models. Today, novel tissue-based imaging technology has revealed that these phenomena occur far more frequently than first described. This article defines these deformational patterns, summarizes current knowledge about their existence and highlights the clinical potential associated with their understanding.

Keywords

• deformation
• postsystolic shortening
• early systolic lengthening
• speckle tracking echocardiography
• clinical value