Prediction of Severity of Coronary Stenosis in the Absence of Infarction by Tissue Doppler Imaging and Conventional Echocardiography at Rest

Tissue Doppler imaging is a relatively new method that measures regional myocardial velocities on the basis of color Doppler imaging. The aim of this study was to investigate both systolic and diastolic parameters to diagnose the coronary stenosis at rest. We examined 73 patients without previous myocardial infarction who underwent coronary angiography. Peak early and late diastolic velocities, systolic velocity, time to peak systolic velocities were measured at rest. The patients were divided to those with coronary artery disease (CAD) in the presence of stenosis of more than 50% in one coronary artery and the control group. We found no significant differences between two groups. Tissue Doppler Imaging is not a reliable tool for diagnosis of CAD at rest. Systolic and diastolic velocities by pulsed-wave tissue Doppler imaging were not sensitive for diagnosing the coronary stenosis.