Arq. Bras. Cardiol. 2022; 118(6): 1106-1107
Is it Possible to Non-Invasively Study the Hemodynamic Adaptations of Chagas Cardiomyopathy by the Volume-Time Curve Using 3D Echocardiography?
This Short Editorial is referred by the Research article "The Volume-Time Curve by Three-Dimensional Echocardiography in Chagas Cardiomyopathy: Insights into the Mechanism of Hemodynamic Adaptations".
Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) represents a great innovation in cardiovascular ultrasound. Increased computer processing power and advances in the development of transducers have allowed acquiring of cardiac structures from any spatial point of view, without assumptions about their shape. Recent studies have demonstrated that when cardiac chamber sizes are quantified using 3DE, their volumes are similar to those obtained using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging compared to two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE)., The usefulness of 3DE has particularly been demonstrated primarily in realistic anatomical heart valve images and in guiding and monitoring cardiac procedures.
3DE allows volume calculation of the left ventricle (LV) throughout the cardiac cycle, making it possible to construct a volume-time curve. This method is more accurate than 2DE because the left ventricular volume is constructed by analyzing hundreds of points at the edge of the endocardium. No specific plane or geometric model is necessary to describe the complex LV structure. In this paper, Pinto et al. tested the hypothesis of studying the hemodynamic adaptations of non-invasive Chagas cardiomyopathy using the volume-time curve generated by 3DE. They generated a polynomial adjusted to the LV volume curve using specific software. Their objective was to present a cross-sectional study evaluating LV function, comparing volume curves in 20 patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy (CC) and 15 gender- and age-matched healthy controls.
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