The Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of Echocardiographic Strain

Importance

Myocardial deformation or strain by speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) has become an established echocardiographic modality for the diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of cardiac dysfunction. Current literature supports the incremental value of strain in diagnosis, risk stratification, and prognostication of a multitude of cardiac disease states.

Observations

Strain has been studied across the clinical spectrum from common to obscure pathologic conditions. This review presents the current literature evaluating characteristic strain patterns across this clinical spectrum, discusses prognostic implications, and provides a case series of classic strain polar maps, which are also known as bull's-eye plots.

Conclusions and Relevance

Characteristic bull's-eye patterns can be used to guide patient evaluation and management.