Direct ultrasound measurement of longitudinal, circumferential, and radial strain using 2-dimensional strain imaging in normal adults.

Current noninvasive techniques used to evaluate left ventricular systolic function are limited by dependence on the angle of insonation (tissue Doppler imaging/TDI) or limited by availability (MRI tagging). We utilized 2-dimensional speckle strain (epsilon) imaging (1) to establish normal values for all three epsilon vectors; (2) to compare circumferential epsilon values with circumferential shortening (midwall fractional shortening (FS(mw)); (3) to examine the relationship between left ventricular epsilon and wall stress; and (4) to compare 2D echocardiographic characteristics by gender. Echocardiography was performed in 60 normal subjects (mean 39 +/- 15 years).