Longitudinal strain and peak strain dispersion in evaluating left ventricular systolic function in patients with sleep apnea syndrome

Objective To evaluate the value of longitudinal peak strain (GLS) and peak strain dispersion (PSD) in left ventricular myocardial synchrony and systolic function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Methods Seventy male patients with OSAS diagnosed by polysomnography and 26 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. According to AHI, the OSAS patients were divided into three groups: mild group, moderate group and severe group. Echocardiography was performed on the next day. The Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVDd), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVDs), left atrial diameter (LAD), interventricular septum thickness (IVST), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPW), global systolic longitudinal strain(GLS) and peak strain dispersion (PSD) were compared among four groups. The correlation between GLS, PSD and AHI were analyzed. Results ①Age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), LVEF, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, LVDd, LVDs, LAD and LVPW were not statistically different among the OSAS mild, moderate, severe group and control group (P>0.05). IVST in severe groups was increased than that in control group (P 0.05). ③Pearson correlation analysis showed that AHI was associated with GLS(r2=0.5026) and PSD(r2=0.6845) (P<0.05). Conclusions GLS and PSD can early evaluate the left ventricular myocardial synchrony and systolic function changes in patients with OSAS. Key words: Three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging; Sleep apnea, obstructive; Global systolic longitudinal strain; Peak strain dispersion