Introduction:

Prognosis in patients with cardiovascular structural disease largely depends on the left ventricular function quality; the measurement of myocardial deformation (strain) is an earlier and more sensitive indicator of heart failure.

Objective:

To correlate the left ventricle diastolic dysfunction degree and other 2D echocardiogram variables with the global longitudinal strain (SLG).

Material and methods:

53 patients with an average age and SD of 59.8 years ± 17.5 and a range of 22 to 91 years were studied, in which routine echocardiographic and SLG measurements were made. Statistical analysis: χ2, t Student, and odds ratio were used to assess the relationship of the variables with the SLG.

Results:

In all cases where diastolic dysfunction was found characterized by prolonged relaxation or pseudo normal filling pattern the SLG was subnormal; likewise, in all cases with concentric remodeling, concentric and eccentric hypertrophy, as well as with the presence of left atrial dilation; in the same way in all cases where risk factors were found (female gender, systemic hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and smoking) the SLG index was subnormal.

Conclusions:

The reduction of global longitudinal strain correlates with the degree of diastolic dysfunction, abnormalities in conventional echocardiographic measurements, as well as the presence of cardiovascular risk factors, all of which should be considered as adverse prognostic predictors.