In this study, the feasibility of two-dimensional strain rate estimation of the human heart in vivo is shown. To do this, ultrasonic B-mode data were captured at a high temporal resolution of 3.7 ms and processed off-line. The motion of the radio-frequency signal patterns within the two-dimensional sector image was tracked and used as the basis for strain rate estimation. Both axial and lateral motion and strain rate estimates showed a good agreement with the results obtained by more established, one-dimensional techniques.