Normal standardized left ventricular longitudinal strain curves stratified by age and sex in healthy individuals: The Copenhagen City Heart Study.

Authors

Jacob Christensen, Jakob Øystein Simonsen, Daniel Modin, Flemming Javier Olsen, Kristoffer Grundtvig Skaarup, Mats Christian Højbjerg Lassen, Niklas Dyrby Johansen, Søren Zöga Diederichsen, Lars Køber, Jesper Hastrup Svendsen, Magnus Thorsten Jensen, Gorm Jensen, Peter Schnohr, Rasmus Møgelvang, Simon Rasmussen, Jacob Tfelt-Hansen, Tor Biering-Sørensen

Published in

European heart journal. Cardiovascular Imaging. Jun 20, 2026. Epub Jun 20, 2026.

Abstract

To establish normal sex- and age-specific longitudinal strain curves, to quantify their morphological variation with age, and to demonstrate their utility by deriving novel measures from them with the aim of testing prognostic value.
Age- and sex-appropriate normal strain curves were derived from healthy participants of the Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS). Four novel measures were constructed: early (EDS) and late (LDS) diastolic strain, primarily to assess age-related variation in strain curve morphology, and mean and diastolic strain deviation. Their prognostic value was assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression and C-statistics internally in the CCHS and externally in the LOOP study against a composite endpoint of cardiovascular death and incident heart failure or atrial fibrillation.In total, 1,641 healthy subjects (mean±SD age 45.3±15.2 years, 62.3% female) from the CCHS and 1,307 (mean±SD age 74.4±4.0 years, 47.4% female) from the LOOP study were included. EDS decreased with age while LDS increased. During a median follow-up of 4.9 [IQI: 3.0, 5.6] years, 409 (31.3%) subjects met the outcome in the LOOP study. Mean strain deviation was independently associated with the outcome (adjusted HR = 1.02 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.05), p = 0.045), while diastolic strain deviation was not.
We established normal sex- and age-specific longitudinal strain curves and furthermore demonstrated their utility by deriving novel measures from these with prognostic value beyond conventional measures. While promising, further validation in external populations is warranted. The normal curves and relevant code are publicly available.

PMID:
42322083
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 20 Jun 2026.

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