Subclinical left ventricular dysfunction and correlation with regional strain analysis in myocarditis with normal ejection fraction. A new diagnostic criterion.

Background: The diagnosis of myocarditis is challenging, especially in case of normal left ventricular systolic function. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that 2D speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE) can detect subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in patients with myocarditis and preserved LV function without regional wall motion abnormalities and that regional strain analysis can correlate with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) findings.

Methods: Study population consisted of 25 consecutive patients with myocarditis and 19 controls.