New ultrasonic technologies in clinical practice

This article presents results of implementation of new ultrasound technologies in clinical practice. The use of speckle tracking imaging allowed for evaluation of contractile function of the left ventricle and diagnosis of early subclinical signs of cardiac injury in the presence of normal systolic and diastolic function of the left ventricle in patients with arterial hypertension without left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Deformations of endocardial and epicardial layers of the left ventricle were studied in regard to the form of LVH and 24-hour profile of arterial blood pressure. Associations of indicators of cardiac mechanics with 24-hour arterial blood pressure profile were demonstrated depending on the presence orabsence of LVH. Phenomenon of rigid left ventricular rotation in patients with chronic heart failure with the narrow QRS complex was discovered. Transthoracic imaging of large coronary arteries is an adequate method of visualization of the left main coronary artery, left anterior descending artery, and right coronary artery. The method may be useful for noninvasive one-time and serial diagnosis of stenosis of the left main coronary artery and the left anterior descending artery as well as of chronic occlusions of the left anterior descending artery and the right coronary artery. The study showed relationship between the coronary reserve values and 24-hour arterial blood pressure profile in patients with arterial hypertension.