Assessment of Left Ventricular Function by Echocardiography: The Case for Routinely Adding Global Longitudinal Strain to Ejection Fraction

Abstract

Left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (LVEF) is a simple measure of global systolic function that pervades the risk evaluation and management of many cardiovascular diseases. However, this parameter is limited not only by technical challenges, but also by pathophysiological entities where the ratio of stroke volume to LV cavity size is preserved. The assessment of global longitudinal strain (GLS) from speckle-tracking analysis of 2-dimensional echocardiography has become a clinically feasible alternative to LVEF for the measurement of myocardial function. Evidence gathered over the last decade has shown GLS to be more sensitive to left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) than LVEF and to provide..