ASSESSMENT OF LEFT VENTRICULAR MYOCARDIAL FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE AND LEFT BUNDLE BRANCH BLOCK USING DOBUTAMINE TISSUE DOPPLER ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to determine in patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB) if pulsed wave tissue Doppler (PWTD) during dobutamine echocardiography (DE) could identify the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods and Materials: 51 patients (33 men and 18 women, age 53±7.4 years) with LBBB were studied: 21 patients with CAD (angiographic coronary atherosclerosis >50% stenosis) and 30 without CAD. The following parameters at rest and during DE were evaluated using PWTD: peak systolic velocity (S), peak early diastolic velocity (E), peak late diastolic velocity (A), ratio…