简介：Echocardiographyisthemostfrequentlyusedimagingmodalitytodeterminecardiacfunction.Leftventricularejectionfractionthemostwidelyusedparameterforevaluationofsystolicfunction,providesimportantprognosticvalueinclinicalpractice,andformspartoftheevidencebaseformanydecisionsaboutcardiovascularcare.However,ejectionfractionhasseveralsubstantiallimitationsandisinsensitivetosubtlechangesinsystolicfunction.Theassessmentofmyocardialdeformationwithechocardiographyhasbeenstudiedfortwodecades,andisincreasinglyusedintheclinicalsetting.Thistechniquecanpreciselycharacterizethemechanicsofmyocardialcontractionandrelaxation.Themostcommonlyusedparameterisgloballongitudinalstrain,whichismoresensitivethanejectionfractionforthemeasurementofsystolicfunction.Thisreviewfocusesontheprognosticvalueofgloballongitudinalstraininpredictingadverseoutcomesincardiovasculardisease.