Left ventricular rotational mechanics differ between lipedema and lymphedema: Insights from the three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiographic MAGYAR-path study

The present study aimed to assess LV rotational mechanics by three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (3DSTE) in lipedema (n=25), lymphedema (n=26) patient groups with age- and gender-matched healthy controls (n=54). 3 lipedema and 4 lymphedema patients were excluded due to insufficient image quality for 3DSTE analysis. LV apical rotation (9.61 ± 4.25 degree vs. 6.40 ± 2.63 degree, p <0.05) and LV twist (13.83 ± 4.89 degree vs. 10.04 ± 3.56 degree, p <0.05) are impaired in lipedema patients as compared to matched controls; similar alterations in lymphedema were not found. Moreover, in some lipedema and lymphedema patients severe LV rotational abnormalities could be detected. Our results suggest that lipedema-associated impaired LV apical rotation and twist assessed by 3DSTE could be a novel differential diagnostic point between lipedema and lymphedema.