Usefulness of Diastolic Color Kinesis Imaging at Rest in the Diagnosis of Acute Coronary Syndrome

The authors report two cases of acute coronary syndrome diagnosed by diastolic color kinesis imaging (CKI), an echocardiographic technique facilitating regional left ventricular wall motion analysis. Although both patients had experienced chest pain within the previous several days, the pain had remitted prior to visiting the clinic. In addition, neither electrocardiography nor routine echocardiography revealed ischemic changes. However, diastolic CKI clearly showed regional diastolic asynchrony of the left ventricle. Coronary angiography revealed significant stenosis compatible with the region of diastolic asynchrony observed on diastolic CKI. The patients underwent successful coronary revascularization, and diastolic asynchrony disappeared after revascularization. These findings suggest that diastolic CKI is useful for the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome, even at rest and in the absence of chest pain.