Cardiomyopathy refers to a group of diseases characterized by structural and functional abnormalities of the myocardium, which often leads to severe outcomes such as heart failure, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. The etiology of cardiomyopathies is multifactorial and includes genetic predispositions, metabolic and endocrine disorders, infections, toxic exposures, autoimmune diseases, physical, and chemical factors. Early and accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment and disease management. Among the various diagnostic modalities, echocardiography has become the preferred tool for clinical diagnosis of cardiomyopathies due to its non-invasive nature, real-time imaging capabilities, and ease of use. It plays a pivotal role in the management guidelines for cardiomyopathies both nationally and internationally. This comment aims to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of echocardiography in cardiomyopathy, discusses its advantages and limitations, and consider future directions for its development in clinical practice.

Objective To explore the effects of home-based exercise rehabilitation on cardiac structure, valvular function, and exercise capacity in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Methods 49 patients with severe AS who underwent TAVR at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, from January 2024 to February 2025 were enrolled. They were divided into an exercise group (n＝25) or a non-exercise group (n＝24) based on participating or not in home-based rehabilitation after TAVR. The exercise group received 12 weeks of home-based exercise training (aerobic exercise plus resistance training every week); the non-exercise group received routine care. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was used to assess cardiac structural parameters before discharge (T0) and after 12 weeks of exercise (T1). Functional outcomes including the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), Duke Activity Status Index (DASI), and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) were compared between the two groups. A linear mixed-effects model was used to analyze the effect of home-based rehabilitation on echocardiographic parameters. Patients were stratified by baseline 6MWT (＜240 m as low-function subgroup, ≥240 m as high-function subgroup) to compare exercise-related outcomes between subgroups. Results At T1, the exercise group had a longer 6MWT distance than the non-exercise group (P＝0.012). The linear mixed-effects model showed that after 12 weeks of exercise, the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) decreased in the exercise group but slightly increased in the non-exercise group, with a significant difference in changes over time between the two groups (P_interaction＝0.030). The exercise group also showed greater improvement in effective orifice area index (P_interaction＝0.028) and effective orifice area (P_interaction＝0.042) than the non-exercise group. Subgroup analysis revealed that in the low-function subgroup, the exercise group showed greater improvement in the 6MWT (P_interaction＝0.035) and the effective orifice area index (P_interaction＝0.046) compared to the non-exercise group; in the high-function subgroup, the exercise group showed greater improvement only in LVEDD compared to the non-exercise group (P_interaction＝0.046). Conclusions Home-based exercise rehabilitation improves exercise capacity, optimizes left ventricular remodeling, and enhances valvular function in patients with severe AS after TAVR, with greater benefits observed in patients with lower baseline 6MWT.

Objective To explore the difference of the left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS) and the segment strains between cardiac amyloidosis (CA) and non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Methods Twenty patients with immunoglobulin light chain cardiac amyloidosis (AL-CA) as CA group and 20 patients with non-obstructive HCM selected as controls (HCM group) were enrolled from January 2016 to April 2022 in Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University. All patients underwent two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE). The left ventricle GLS and the segmental strains were calculated. The values of these strains to distinguish AL-CA from HCM were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and logistic regression analysis. Results In the CA group, the GLS parameters (3P, 4Ch, 2Ch, 3Ch), as well as the left ventricle segmental strains (MID-ANT/LAT, MID-INF/SEPT, BASAL-ANT/LAT, BASAL-INF/SEPT, MID-ANT, MID-INF, BASAL-ANT, BASAL-INF, MID-INF/LAT, BASAL-ANT/SEPT, and BASAL-INF/LAT) were all lower than those in the HCM group (P＜0.01). ROC results showed that GLS(4Ch), GLS(2Ch), GLS(3Ch), GLS(3P), BASAL-ANT/LAT, BASAL-INF/SEPT, BASAL-ANT, BASAL-INF, BASAL-ANT/SEPT and BASAL-INF/LAT had good efficacy in distinguishing AL-CA from HCM. Logistic regression analysis showed that BASAL-ANT/LAT was an independent factor in distinguishing AL-CA from HCM (P＜0.01). The consistency of test results was good. Conclusions The left ventricular segmental myocardial strains show good efficacy in distinguishing AL-CA from HCM, and BASAL-ANT/LAT has highest application value.

Objective:To explore the relationship between genotypes and phenotypes in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(HCM) patients using whole exome sequencing(WES) and three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography(3D-STE).Methods:Twenty patients with apical HCM(ApHCM) and 25 patients with non-apical HCM(non-ApHCM) from June 2018 to January 2019 in Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University were enrolled. All subjects underwent venous blood sampling and WES. Regular two-dimensional echocardiography was performed to acquire the following parameters: interventricular septum thickness, left ventricular posterior wall thickness, left ventricular end diastolic diameter, left ventricular end systolic diameter, the maximum thickness of left ventricular walls and left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF). Full volume images were collected and then off-time analyzed with 3D-STE to acquire global longitudinal strain(GLS), global circumferential strain(GCS), twist and torsion. The relationships between above parameters, genotypes and phenotypes of left ventricle were analyzed.Results:Mutations were found in 73% of HCM patients.The two most common genes MYBPC3 and MYH7 accounted for 18% and 15% of mutations respectively. KCNEc.79C>T(p.Arg27Cys) and PRKAG2c.905G>A (p.Arg302Gln) were detected in both ApHCM group and non-ApHCM group. In ApHCM group, 60% of patients carried genetic mutations, which was significantly lower than non-ApHCM group(84%)( P=0.041). Compared with non-ApHCM group, GLS in ApHCM group was significantly higher ( P=0.008). There was no statistical difference of GLS between patients with mutations and without mutations( P=0.068). GLS demonstrated a moderate correlation with morphologic types of HCM(ApHCM and non-ApHCM)( r=0.364, P=0.012). However, there was no correlation between GLS and the condition of mutations( r=0.269, P=0.062). Conclusions:The relationship between genetics and phenotypic expression of HCM appears to be complex and heterogeneous. There are marked differences in gene mutations and systolic functions between ApHCM and non-ApHCM. The value of GLS correlates with the shape of left ventricle but not with genotypes.

Objective The aim of the present study is to measure multi-directional strain in patients with hyperuricemia through 3-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (3D-STE) in order to investigate the left ventricular function early changes and clinical application value of 3D-STE. Methods 3-dimension dynamic images of left ventricular full volume in Apical 4-chamber heart view was collected and stored. 3-dimensional specke-tracking technology was applied to measure and compare the left ventricular multi-directional strain of patients with hyperuricemia and healthy controls in order to evaluate the left ventricular systolic function. Results A total of 24 healthy controls and 38 patients with hyperuricemia were included into the study. Among them,patients with hyperuricemia were divided into simple hyperuricemia group(n=12), hyperuricemia complicated with hyperlipidemia group (n=16)and hyperuricemia complicated with both hyper-tension and hyperlipidemia group (n=10). The circumferential strain [(-18.8±4.4)% vs (-25.9±6.4)%, t=-3.48, P=0.001] and area strain [(-31.2±3.9)% vs (-36.8±7.1)%, t=-2.55, P=0.018] of patients with simple hyper-uricemia significantly decreased compared with healthy controls. Besides, the circumferential strain [(-19.9 ± 5.8)% vs (-25.9 ±6.4)%, t=-3.02, P=0.002], longitudinal strain [(-12.6 ±3.3)% vs (-14.4 ±2.5)%, t=-1.95, P=0.038] and area strain [(-29.9±6.6)% vs (-25.9±6.4)%, t=-3.15, P=0.001] of patients with hyperuricemia complicated with hyperlipidemia significantly decreased compared with healthy controls. Conclusion Myo-cardial strain of patients with hyperuricemia complicated with hyperlipidemia or not is both decreased, indicating a decline in left ventricular systolic function.

Objective To investigate the difference between three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography ( 3DTEE) and CT in measuring the size of aortic ring and the height of coronary ostium . Methods Fifteen patients were recruited and were treated with the transcatheter aortic valve implantation ( TAVI) . Routine transthoracic echocardiography ,two-dimensional echocardiography ( 2DTEE) ,3DTEE and CT examinations were taken preoperatively . Results The minimal diameter ,maximum diameter , perimeter ,area of the aortic ring measured by 3DTTE showed a close correlation and a strong consistency with those measured by CT [ r = 0 .88 , P < 0 .0001 ,ICC = 0 .928 (0 .788 - 0 .976) ; r = 0 .81 , P = 0 .0003 , ICC = 0 .890 ( 0 .673 - 0 .963) , r = 0 .85 , P = 0 .0001 ,ICC = 0 .914 ( 0 .744 - 0 .971) ; r = 0 .88 , P <0 .0001 ,ICC = 0 .932 (0 .799 - 0 .977) ] .The ostium height of the left and right coronary arteries measured by 3DTEE also showed a close correlation and a strong consistency with those measured by MDCT [ r =0 .87 , P < 0 .0001 ,ICC = 0 .923 ( 0 .777 - 0 .975) ; r = 0 .82 , P < 0 .0002 ,ICC = 0 .897 ( 0 .693 - 0 .965) ] . Besides ,inter-observer and intra-observer reproducibility for 3DTEE measurement data were very good . Conclusions 3DTEE has a high repeatability in evaluating minimal diameter , maximum diameter , perimeter ,area of the aortic ring and the height of coronary ostium ,which also shows good correlation with those measured by CT .