ABSTRACT
A solid understanding of cardiac mechanics is fundamental to comprehend the normal myocardial contractility pattern, alterations caused by different heart diseases, and potential impact of different medical, catheter-based, or surgical treatments (Buckberg et al. 2004). The heterogeneous three-dimensional (3D) nature of the heart motion has always made analysis of the cardiac function an intricate task (Buckberg et al. 2008). The myocardial deformation tensor has three motion components, nine deformation gradients, and six strains (see Chapter 6 for a detailed coverage of mathematical formulations of heart mechanics). This inherent complexity combined with regional myocardial dysfunction, for example, in the setting of ischemic heart disease, leads to daunting cardiac function analysis. Furthermore, any cardiac imaging modality quantifying regional myocardial function should have the ability to track the same tissue material throughout the cardiac cycle.
