Acute global longitudinal strain evaluation in patients with subacute to chronic chest pain: A pilot, observational study

Background: Global longitudinal strain (GLS) imaging is a multifaceted modality that has been utilized in various fields of clinical cardiology in the recent past; however, its implementation for the assessment of ischemia has been limited. Objectives: This study aimed to document the functional changes in GLS secondary to acute myocardial ischemia in patients with chronic chest pain. Methods: In this unblinded, single-center, investigator-initiated, prospective pilot study, the functional changes in GLS at baseline, during, and immediately following coronary percutaneous intervention were monitored in 10 ambulatory patients who underwent elective catheterization. The exclusion criteria included a low ejection fraction, or a history of chemoradiation, myopathy, and congenital heart disease. Results: The average GLS at baseline, during the balloon intervention (BI), and 1–2 min after BI was −15.4 % ± 3.3 %, −10.2 % ± 3.6 %, and −16.1 % ± 4.2 %, respectively. The average GLS decreased significantly by 5.1 % (95 % CI, −7.9 % to −2.3; P = 0.0013) from baseline to BI, increased by 6.3 % (95 % CI, 3.7 % to 8.9 %; P