Quantification of Left Ventricle Function in Stress Echocardiography Using Endocardial Area Centroid Trajectory

Coronary artery occlusion has a direct effect on cardiac activity and is a well-known reason for ventricular motion disorder, specifically left ventricle (LV) wall motion dysfunction. In stress echocardiography, wall motion abnormality is exaggerated when stress is applied to the heart, and therefore, it is easier to diagnose abnormality in ventricular motion. In this study, we have presented a new parameter that measures LV function. We have shown that LV function can be measured using a variation of endocard borders during a cardiac cycle in standard stress echocardiography frames. This parameter shows a meaningful difference between ischemic and normal hearts and is calculated at different heart rates (HRs). In conclusion, ischemic hearts cannot keep up with the required increase in activity when reaching peak levels of stress.