Myocardial Performance Index as an Echocardiographic Predictor of Early In-Hospital Heart Failure during First Acute Anterior ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

Myocardial infarction induces impairment of left ventricular systolic and diastolic function to various degrees. Conventional echocardiographic indices that are routinely applied for the estimation of cardiac function face a number of limitations. The ejection fraction, the most reliable estimator of systolic function, is prone to significant inaccuracies when there is a change in the LV geometry which is quite common after acute MI (135). On the other hand, transmitral flow, which is the most frequent method for evaluation of diastolic function, is dependent on age, heart rate, as well as loading conditions (142). Taking into account all the above, we could hypothesize that measurement of a single parameter, capable of estimating combined systolic and diastolic performance and independent of the limitations mentioned previously, could be of great prognostic value in assessment of global LV function after acute MI.(142) The aim of our study is to investigate the value of LV myocardial performance index in assessment of global LV function as well as non-invasive prediction of early clinical heart failure complicating acute anterior STEMI.