Abstract:Objective To investigate the application value of two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) in evaluating longitudinal mechanical characteristics of ascending aorta in patients with chronic moderate to severe aortic regurgitation (AR). Methods 93 patients with chronic moderate to severe AR were continuously collected as the case group, and 80 healthy volunteers with matched age and gender were collected as the control group. General clinical parameters such as gender, age, blood pressure and so on were recorded, and left ventricle related parameters, ascending aortic diameter (AAd), stroke volume index (SVI) and so on were measured by two-dimensional echocardiography. The longitudinal strain of anterior and posterior wall of the ascending aorta were analyzed by QLAB offline analysis software, and the mean values of them were denoted as mean LS. Results Compared with the control group, AW-LS, PW-LS of ascending aorta in chronic moderate to severe AR patients were significantly decreased (P＜0.001). LS of ascending aorta was negatively correlated with AAd, systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, SVI and heart rate (P＜0.001). Conclusion Compared with healthy people, patients with chronic moderate and severe AR have accelerated the degeneration and sclerosis of ascending aorta. The longitudinal mechanical characteristics of ascending aorta in patients with chronic moderate to severe AR may provide reference for the choice of surgical timing.