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Left ventricular radial and circumferential wall motion analysis in horses using strain, strain rate, and displacement by 2D speckle tracking.
Abstract: Noninvasive assessment of left-ventricular (LV) function is clinically relevant, but is incompletely studied in horses. Objective: To document the feasibility, describe the techniques, and determine the reliability of 2D speckle tracking (2DST) for characterization of LV radial and circumferential wall motion in horses. Methods: Three Standardbreds, 3 Thoroughbreds; age 8-14 years; body weight 517-606 kg. Methods: Observational study. Repeated 2-dimensional echocardiographic examinations were performed in unsedated horses by 2 observers and subsequently analyzed by 2DST. Test reliability was determined for segmental and for averaged 2DST indices (including strain, strain rate, displacement, and rotation) by estimating measurement variability, within-day interobserver variability, between-day interobserver variability, and between-day intraobserver variability. Variability was expressed as coefficient of variation (percent) and the absolute value below which the difference between 2 measurements will lie with 95% probability. Results: 2DST analyses were feasible in 16 of 18 echocardiographic studies. The automated tracking was accurate during systole but inaccurate during diastole. Reliability was higher for radial compared to circumferential measurements. For radial strain, radial systolic strain rate, and radial systolic displacement, the test-retest variabilities ranged between 2.4 and 33.1% for segmental and between 4.1 and 16.1% for averaged measurements. Conclusions: Systolic radial motion of the LV at the chordal level could be reliably characterized in horses by 2DST. Circumferential measurements were less reliable. Diastolic measurements were invalid because of inaccurate tracking. The clinical value of LV wall motion analysis by 2DST in horses requires further investigation.
Publication Date: 2009-06-01 PubMed ID: 19496916DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2009.0321.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
Summary
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The research article focuses on how non-invasive probes can be used to assess the heart function (specifically left ventricular or LV) in horses using a technique called 2D speckle tracking. The study primarily aims to demonstrate how feasible the technique is, outline the methodology, and highlight its reliability in determining the radial and circumferential wall motion of the LV in horses.
Objective and Methodology
- The main objective of this article is to prove the viability of 2D speckle tracking or 2DST for understanding the behavior of the left ventricular wall motion in horses. The technique scans and studies the circumferential and radial wall motion of the horse’s LV.
- A group of six horses, comprising three Standardbreds and three Thoroughbreds, were chosen for this observational study. These horses ranged between 8-14 years of age and had body weights between 517-606 kg.
- The researchers used repeated 2-dimensional echocardiographic studies and the collected data was later analyzed using 2DST.
Reliability Analysis and Variability Determination
- The reliability of the tests was primarily determined through an estimation of measurement variability, within-day interobserver variability, and both between-day interobserver and intraobserver variability.
- The variability was expressed through coefficient of variation (percent) and the absolute value below which the difference between two measurements will lie with 95% probability.
Findings and Conclusion
- The 2DST analyses were feasible in 16 out of the 18 echocardiographic studies conducted. They found automated tracking to be accurate during systole (contraction phase) but less reliable during diastole (relaxation phase). This resulted in diastolic measurements being considered invalid due to inaccurate tracking.
- The test showed higher reliability for radial measurements as compared to circumferential measurements. The test-retest variabilities ranged between 2.4 and 33.1% for segmental and between 4.1 and 16.1% for averaged measurements.
- The study concluded that systolic radial motion of the horse’s LV at the chordal level could be reliably characterized by 2DST. However, the clinical value of LV wall motion analysis by 2DST in horses requires further investigation.
Cite This Article
APA
Schwarzwald CC, Schober KE, Berli AS, Bonagura JD.
(2009).
Left ventricular radial and circumferential wall motion analysis in horses using strain, strain rate, and displacement by 2D speckle tracking.
J Vet Intern Med, 23(4), 890-900.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2009.0321.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. cschwarzwald@vetclinics.uzh.ch
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Biomechanical Phenomena
- Echocardiography / methods
- Echocardiography / veterinary
- Female
- Heart Ventricles
- Horses / physiology
- Male
- Ventricular Function, Left / physiology
Citations
This article has been cited 11 times.- Eberhardt C, Schwarzwald CC. Focused cardiac ultrasound examination in the emergency and critical care horse: Training for non-specialist veterinarians and evaluation of proficiency. J Vet Intern Med 2022 Jul;36(4):1471-1480.
- Decloedt A, Ven S, De Clercq D, Rademakers F, van Loon G. Assessment of left ventricular function in horses with aortic regurgitation by 2D speckle tracking. BMC Vet Res 2020 Mar 20;16(1):93.
- Leroux AA, Moonen M, Farnir F, Deleuze S, Sandersen C, Amory H. Two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography in goats: repeatability, variability, and validation of the technique using an exercise test and an experimentally induced acute ischemic cardiomyopathy. BMC Vet Res 2020 Feb 14;16(1):56.
- Corda A, Pinna Parpaglia ML, Sotgiu G, Zobba R, Gomez Ochoa P, Prieto Ramos J, French A. Use of 2-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography to assess left ventricular systolic function in dogs with systemic inflammatory response syndrome. J Vet Intern Med 2019 Mar;33(2):423-431.
- Gehlen H, Bildheim LM. Speckle-tracking analysis of myocardial deformation in correlation to age in healthy horses. J Vet Sci 2018 Sep 30;19(5):676-682.
- Flethøj M, Schwarzwald CC, Haugaard MM, Carstensen H, Kanters JK, Olsen LH, Buhl R. Left Ventricular Function After Prolonged Exercise in Equine Endurance Athletes. J Vet Intern Med 2016 Jul;30(4):1260-9.
- Berli AS, Jud Schefer R, Steininger K, Schwarzwald CC. The use of strain, strain rate, and displacement by 2D speckle tracking for assessment of systolic left ventricular function in goats: applicability and influence of general anesthesia. Cardiovasc Ultrasound 2015 Mar 17;13:11.
- Hamabe L, Fukushima R, Kawamura K, Shinoda Y, Huai-Che H, Suzuki S, Aytemiz D, Iwasaki T, Tanaka R. Evaluation of changes in left ventricular myocardial function observed in canine myocardial dysfunction model using a two-dimensional tissue tracking technique. J Vet Sci 2013;14(3):355-62.
- Mandour AS, Samir H, Farag A, Hamabe L, Matsuura K, Yoshida T, Watanabe G, Tanaka R. Concomitant changes in regional myocardial deformation and intraventricular pressure gradients in normal and sedated goats: advanced multimodal echocardiographic study. BMC Vet Res 2025 Nov 15;21(1):667.
- Favier D, Brugada-Terradellas C, Vernooij J, Hulsman A, Santarelli G. Reference Intervals for Conventional Transthoracic Echocardiography and Two-Dimensional Speckle Tracking Echocardiography-Derived Strain Values in the Dutch Sheepdog ('Schapendoes'). Animals (Basel) 2025 May 23;15(11).
- Shokrollahi S, Mohammadi R, Sarrafzadeh-Rezaei F, Jalilzadeh-Amin G, Hashemi-Asl SM. Clinical and echocardiographic evaluations of sedative and cardiovascular effects of combination of xylazine-acepromazine versus xylazine-pregabalin in horses. Vet Res Forum 2024;15(6):291-296.
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