Evaluation of diastolic wall strain in patients with mitral valve regurgitation

Background: Diastolic wall strain (DWS) is a non invasive, easy, echocardiographic parameter that has been used to determine left ventricular diastolic stiffness. The relationship between left ventricle functions and diastolic wall strain is previously revealed but we don’t know if this method correlates with mitral regurgitation (MR) severity or not. In this study, we sought to determine the relationship between DWS and MR. Methods: This study included 107 subjects with primary mitral regurgitation, divided in two groups as mild-to-moderate and severe mitral regurgitation, and 54 control subjects. We calculated the DWS from the M-mode echocardiographic measurements of the LV posterior wall thickness at end-systole and end-diastole during sinus rhythm. Results: MR group had lower values of DWS than control subjects and severe MR group had the lowest ones (0.38 ± 0.06; 0.27 ± 0.07; 0.15 ± 0.035 respectively and p