A Guide for Assessment of Myocardial Stiffness in Health and Disease

Overview

Journal Nat Cardiovasc Res

Publisher Springer Nature

Specialty Cardiology & Vascular Diseases

Date 2024 Aug 28

PMID 39196108

Authors

Jose Carlos Villalobos Lizardi

Jerome Baranger

Minh B Nguyen

Atef Asnacios

Aimen Malik

Joost Lumens

Luc Mertens

Mark K Friedberg

Craig A Simmons

Mathieu Pernot

Olivier Villemain

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Myocardial stiffness is an intrinsic property of the myocardium that influences both diastolic and systolic cardiac function. Myocardial stiffness represents the resistance of this tissue to being deformed and depends on intracellular components of the cardiomyocyte, particularly the cytoskeleton, and on extracellular components, such as collagen fibers. Myocardial disease is associated with changes in myocardial stiffness, and its assessment is a key diagnostic marker of acute or chronic pathological myocardial disease with the potential to guide therapeutic decision-making. In this Review, we appraise the different techniques that can be used to estimate myocardial stiffness, evaluate their advantages and disadvantages, and discuss potential clinical applications.

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