Impaired echocardiographic strain serves as a key predictor for the decline of cardiac function during the progression from acute myocarditis to inflammatory cardiomyopathy.
Echocardiographic imaging mirrors the immunopathological processes underlying the progression from acute myocarditis to inflammatory cardiomyopathy. T cell-mediated myocardial inflammation and edematous swelling in subepicardial regions at disease onset is followed by smoldering low-level myocardial inflammation or increasing cardiomyocyte loss and fibrotic remodeling. The resulting decline of cardiac function in the progressive disease is reflected and best predicted by impaired echocardiographic strain.
Joachimbauer et al. (Mon,) studied this question.