Stress Echocardiography: A Useful Tool for Children With Aortic Stenosis

The development of echocardiographic ventricular wall motion abnormalities and ST segment changes with exercise may enhance the detection of myocardial ischemia in children with aortic valve stenosis (AS). This study aimed to assess the relationship between the exercise wall motion index (WMIe), ST segment depression (STd), and overall functionality in asymptomatic children with isolated AS. A prospective interpretation of collected stress echocardiographic images was performed. The 98 children who met the inclusion criteria had a mean age of 12.8 years and a male/female ratio of 4/1. Group 1 (mild AS) was composed of 70 children, and group 2 (moderate or severe AS) was composed of 28 children. Abnormal WMIe was seen in 8 patients (5 in group 1 and 3 in group 2), and significant STd was observed in 13 children (3 in group 1 and 10 in group 2). Four (50 %) of the eight patients with abnormal WMIe also had significant STd. Severity of stenosis was associated with STd (odds ratio [OR], 12.0; 95 % CI 3.0–49.0), logistic regression). A significant association also existed between abnormal WMIe and STd (OR, 9.0; 95 % CI 1.9–42.0, logistic regression). Exercise duration was significantly shorter in group 2 (12 ± 4.52 min) than in group 1 (13 ± 5.28 min) (p = 0.02, analysis of covariance). The appearance of wall motion abnormalities and STd during exercise may be helpful in detecting inducible, functionally important myocardial ischemia in asymptomatic children with AS. Stress echocardiography may be a useful adjunct to more traditional exercise testing in risk stratifying asymptomatic children with AS.