Regional Strain Determination and Myocardial Infarction Detection by Three‐Dimensional Echocardiography with Varied Temporal Resolution

Background Three‐dimensional echocardiography (3 DE ) is a promising method for strain determination; however, there are temporal resolution concerns. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of 3 DE on longitudinal and circumferential strain ( LS , CS ) determination and infarction detection under variable frame rates ( FR ) and “heart rates” (stroke rates [ SR ]) conditions. Methods Latex balloons were sewn into the left ventricle ( LV ) of 20 freshly harvested pig hearts which were then passively driven by a pulsatile pump apparatus at stroke volumes ( SV ) 30–70 mL. The hearts were pumped at 2 normal limits of human heart rate. Full‐volume data were acquired before and after a simulated myocardial infarction ( MI ) at the 2 most commonly used FR s. LS and CS values were evaluated against sonomicrometry. Results Longitudinal strain and CS derived from high FR acquisitions showed statistically superior correlations with sonomicrometry data ( LS : R 2  = 0.85, CS : R 2  = 0.84) than strain values from low FR ( LS : R 2  = 0.78, CS : R 2  = 0.76) (all P < 0.01). After MI induction, LS and CS at different FR s were significantly decreased while maintaining excellent correlations with sonomicrometry data (all P < 0.001). There is no statistical difference of strain values between different SR acquisitions. Conclusion Three‐dimensional wall‐motion tracking has the ability to accurately determine regional myocardial deformation and detect MI . Different heart rates within a physiologically relevant range have no effect on 3D strain accuracy. Strain values calculated from higher frame rate acquisitions were found to have a slightly better accuracy.