An ultrasonic imaging system produces a sequence of images of the heart during a cardiac cycle. The images are analyzed to determine the motion, displacement, or change in size of segments of the myocardium. In a preferred embodiment the values determined are radial, longitudinal, or circumferential myocardial strain values. The displacement of the myocardial segments may be tracked during the cardiac cycle by speckle tracking or border detection. The motion, displacement, or change in size values for the segments are analyzed to produce a recruitment curve and anatomical display showing the relative times of recruitment of the different segments in the contractile and relaxation motion of the heart. Participation in and achievement of full recruitment may be determined by comparison against an initial recruitment threshold criterion and against a predetermine maximal recruitment milestone level.
