Ventricular Dyssynchrony Markers in Healthy Black African Subjects: A Tissue Doppler Imaging Study

Tissue Doppler is a promising method that allows the measurement of time of systolic and diastolic tissue velocities. Ventricular dyssynchrony was assessed in patients with heart failure. In sub-Saharan Africa, very few studies have focused on ventricular dyssynchrony in healthy subjects.. The purpose of this study was to measure time-to-peak of systolic and diastolic velocities of different segments of left ventricle and apply ventricular dyssynchrony markers to healthy black African subjects..Patients and Fifty healthy black African were enrolled consecutively over a period of 3 months. Time-to-peak systolic velocities (TS) and Time-to-peak early diastolic velocities (TE) were measured at the four basal segments of left ventricle. Five dyssynchrony markers were assessed: difference between maximal time-to-peak systolic velocity and minimal time-to-peak systolic velocity, time between septal time-to-peak systolic velocity and lateral time-to peak systolic velocity, standard deviation of time-to-peak systolic velocity of the four basal segments, difference between maximal time-to-peak early diastolic velocity and minimal time-to-peak early diastolic velocity, and standard deviation of time-to-peak early diastolic velocity of the four basal segments.. The frequency of some dyssynchrony markers was similar to that of other studies. The difference between maximal time-to-peak systolic velocity and minimal time-to-peak systolic velocity was correlated with age and was higher among women. The prevalence of diastolic dyssynchrony was higher in black African subjects.. Large-scale studies on the healthy black African population could assess the relationship between diastolic dyssynchrony and changes in myocardial performance related to racial differences..