Global Longitudinal Strain Value and its Association with Coronary Artery Disease Severity

Background: Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is one of the commonest non communicable cause of mortality and morbidity in the world today. Global Longitudinal Strain (GLS) Assessment can be an important tool in assessing severity of CAD. Aim: To assess role of GLS in predicting severity of CAD. Material and Methods: 160 patients, aged 18 to 75, suspected of CAD, underwent transthoracic echocardiograms before coronary angiography. Simpson’s method was used to measure LVEF. Depth-adjusted 2D images of the LV were taken in various views for offline measurement of 2D speckle-tracking myocardial strain. Global peak systolic strain was calculated by averaging six regional values from different views to measure longitudinal strain. Results: In this study, patients with significant CAD exhibited significantly lower GLS compared to those with non-significant CAD (-15.89 + 2.84% vs -18.36 + 2.60%, p = 0.0001). As CAD severity increased, GLS values decreased significantly (-17.14 + 2.57% vs -16.27 + 2.42% vs -14.74 + 2.78%). A decremental trend in GLS with increasing CAD severity was observed, indicating a higher risk of multivessel disease with lower GLS values (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Reduced GLS indicates early LV systolic dysfunction in significant CAD patients. Thus, GLS measurement serves as an important diagnostic tool for predicting severe CAD.