الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The NSTEMI population comprises a number of patients with only minimal myocardial necrosis, because an increasing number of patients with non–ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome are diagnosed with MI since the introduction of more sensitive biochemical markers of myocardial necrosis. (252)
However a subgroup of NSTEMI patients has substantial infarction, (32, 33) it is important to recognize that the difference between STEMI and NSTEMI by definition is electrophysiological and not pathophysiological, and there is a significant overlap in final infarct size between STEMI and NSTEMI patients. (33) Even patients with a normal ECG may develop large infarctions. (32)
But these patients rarely fulfill criteria to be candidates for acute reperfusion therapy. (20) This therapy salvages viable myocardium and preserves left ventricular (LV) function by reduction of infarct size, which is a strong predictor of mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events after myocardial infarction (MI). (21)
Therefore, a tool to predict infarct size early should be based on information that can be obtained in the emergency room which is not be feasible for MPI and CMR, also as the routine use of these advanced imaging technologies in daily clinical practice is constrained by costs and logistics.
This was the aim of our study, to validate a bedside modality to predict infarct size. As acute coronary occlusion is followed by rapid changes in LV systolic function, (113) we investigated the ability of strain Doppler echocardiography to predict left ventricular infarct size.
The study was conducted on 30 patients diagnosed as NSTEMI. All patients were subjected to a detailed history taking, clinical evaluation, 12 lead ECG, laboratory investigations, assessing GRACE risk score at admission, echocardiographic examination including strain Doppler echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging on discharge.