Effect of intramyocardial bone marrow cell injection on left ventricular dyssynchrony and global strain

Objective: To evaluate the effect of bone marrow cell injection on global strain and left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony. Methods: In 14 patients with severe postinfarction heart failure, 93 (14)×106 autologous bone marrow cells were percutaneously injected in the infarction border zone. LV ejection fraction (LVEF), LV dyssynchrony and echocardiographic global strain were assessed at baseline and 3 months in patients and in a non-randomised control group of 10 patients with a history of infarction who developed heart failure and were treated medically. Results: No periprocedural complications occurred during bone marrow cell injection. At 3 months mean (SD) LVEF increased from 23 (8)% to 27 (9)% (p = 0.02) and global strain improved from −7.7 (4.7)% to −8.5 (4.9)% (p = 0.04). In patients with ⩾5% improvement in LVEF after bone marrow cell injection, global strain improved from −8.7 (4.6)% to −10.6 (4.5)% (p r  = 0.84, p r  = −0.77, p Conclusions: Bone marrow cell injection improves LVEF in patients with severe postinfarction heart failure. The improvement in LVEF was related to reduced LV dyssynchrony and increased global strain.