Standard Echocardiography and Strain Imaging in Prediction of Short-Term Outcome in Patients with Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy Referred for Transplantation

Purpose: In the light of continuous prolongation of the waiting time on heart transplantation (HTx) lists, the need for reliable predictors of the time course of heart failure (HF) has become increasingly important. To optimize HTx-listing decisions, we evaluated the prognostic value of echocardiography including 2D strain imaging in patients with end-stage idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM). Patients and Methods: Study population comprised 38 consecutive stable IDCM patients with severely impaired LV systolic function (LVEF