Influence of wall stress and left ventricular geometry on the accuracy of dobutamine stress echocardiography

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to determine whether wall stress at rest and during stress could explain the influence of left ventricular (LV) morphology on the accuracy of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE). BACKGROUND: The sensitivity of DSE appears to be reduced in patients with concentric remodeling, but the cause of this finding is unclear. METHODS: We studied 161 patients without resting wall motion abnormalities who underwent DSE and coronary angiography. Patients were classified into four groups according to relative wall thickness (normal <0.45) and LV mass (normal ≤131 g/m2 in men and ≤100 g/m2 in women): normal geometry, concentric remodeling, concentric hypertrophy,..