Recent Advance in Speckle Tracking Echocardiography for Assessment of Left Ventricular Systolic Function

The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is the principal method and commonly used echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular systolic function. Although LVEF has broad applications, it also has some limitations. Measurement of LV systolic function by two-dimensional echocardiography is highly operator-dependent and has less reproducibility. Geometry is also a confounder to affect the measurement. The most important limitation is the insensitivity to detect the early dysfunction. Global longitudinal strain from speckle tracking echocardiography overcomes many limitations. It resolves the reproducibility issues for serial follow up and reduces the deviation from geometric confounders. Moreover, it can quantify the regional variety which can differentiate different pathology of the remodeled hearts. The most impressive evolution is early detection of LV dysfunction even in the subclinical stage. This review introduces this novel echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular systolic function and its clinical applications.