Fig. 1.

Global systolic strain is enhanced in adult Rad^−/−. a Representative echocardiographic images showing raw strain data for WT and Rad^−/− for longitudinal plane (left) and circumferential plane (right). b Pooled data for longitudinal strain. Aging decreased global longitudinal strain in WT (−18.7 ± 1.7% in adult versus −10.8 ± 1.9% in aged WT; p < 0.01). c Pooled data for circumferential strain. Rad deletion significantly enhances circumferential strain for adult and during aging compared to WT (for adult: strain = −19.9 ± 1.3% versus −27.2 ± 1.0, for WT and Rad^−/−, respectively; p < 0.001; for aged: strain = −17.8 ± 0.7 versus −23.2 ± 0.7, for WT and Rad^−/−, respectively; p < 10⁻⁴