Global longitudinal strain by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging predicts exercise capacity in patients with chronic heart failure

Background Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) predicts mortality in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). However, a weak correlation was found between LVEF and peak oxygen uptake (\( \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{2} \)) in CHF patients. Global longitudinal strain measured by two-dimensional (2D) strain is regarded as a more useful predictor of cardiac events than LVEF. We investigated whether 2D strain obtained at rest could predict peak \( \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{2} \) in patients with CHF.