The Value of Three-Dimensional Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography in the Prediction of Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Hypertension Complicated by Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study

BACKGROUND: Patients with hypertension complicated by acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have a generally poor prognosis. The identification of powerful predictors for recurring cardiovascular events (RCEs) is vital. This study seeks to evaluate the predictive value of three-dimensional (3D) strain parameters for RCEs in patients with hypertension complicated by AMI. METHODS: We successfully followed up patients with hypertension and AMI from April 2015 to December 2015 in this retrospective study. Participants previously underwent 3D echocardiography, one week, and one month after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The left ventricular structural function parameters, as well as 3D strain parameters including 3D global longitudinal strain (3D-GLS), 3D global circumferential strain, 3D global radial strain, and 3D global area strain (3D-GAS), were acquired. A Cox model was used to determine the relationships between these parameters and RCEs. RESULTS: In total, 62 patients were enrolled in the analysis. During follow-up (41.27 ± 20.45 months), 20 patients (32.3%) had RCEs that were independently predicted one month after PCI by 3D-GLS (HR: 1.481, 95% CI: 1.202–1.824, P < 0.001) and 3D-GAS (HR: 1.254, 95% CI: 1.093–1.440, P = 0.001). The optimal cutoffs for 3D-GLS and 3D-GAS in predicting cardiac events were ≥12.5% (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC]: 0.736, 95% CI: 0.611–0.862, P = 0.003), and >20.5% (AUC: 0.685, 95% CI: 0.551–0.818, P = 0.020), respectively. CONCLUSION: The assessed values of 3D-GLS and 3D-GAS one month after PCI can predict RCEs in patients with hypertension complicated by AMI.