Age is an important determinant of Doppler indices of left ventricular diastolic filling in normal subjects. To define reference values and factors of importance to Doppler indices of left ventricular filling in subjects of similar age, 58 men and 76 women aged 50 years underwent Doppler echocardiography. All those taking part in the study were healthy. When gender was analysed in a multivariat...

Left ventricular systolic function does not correlate well with functional class in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. To determine whether the correlation is better with Doppler indexes of left ventricular diastolic function, 34 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (M-mode echocardiographic end-diastolic dimension greater than 60 mm, fractional shortening less than 25%, increased E point-se...

Three measurements of diastolic filling were compared in 29 patients with essential hypertension and 27 age matched normotensive controls. Systolic function was normal in all but one of the patients. The mean (1SD) first one third filling fraction (a measurement of early diastolic filling) was significantly lower in the hypertensive groups (0.27 (0.24] than in the control group (0.45 (0.16)). T...

In resting condition, obese subjects are described as having impaired diastolic filling. To examine the effect of mild to moderate obesity on left ventricular diastolic performance during stress in hypertension, we determined the filling responses to dynamic submaximal exercise in 19 obese hypertensive patients (body mass index, 26 to 30 kg/m2) with a normal left ventricular structure, 19 agean...

Background—Obesity is characterized by impaired cardiac energetics, which may play a role in the development of diastolic dysfunction and inappropriate shortness of breath. We assessed whether, in obesity, derangement of energetics and diastolic function is further altered during acute cardiac stress. Methods and Results—Normal-weight (body mass index, 22 2 kg/m; n 9–17) and obese (body mass in...

BACKGROUND Obesity is characterized by impaired cardiac energetics, which may play a role in the development of diastolic dysfunction and inappropriate shortness of breath. We assessed whether, in obesity, derangement of energetics and diastolic function is further altered during acute cardiac stress. METHODS AND RESULTS Normal-weight (body mass index, 22±2 kg/m(2); n=9-17) and obese (body ma...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to set up reference values for Doppler flow-derived left ventricular filling parameters and to evaluate physiologic determinants of changes in signal expression related to maturation. BACKGROUND In left ventricular diastolic function studies, age-related modulations in signal expression are observed. Assuming degenerative myocardial changes to be absent du...

In order to study the relation between the 'rapid filling wave' of the apex cardiogram and left ventricular filling, simultaneous apex cardiograms, phonocardiograms, and echocardiograms were recorded in 57 patients. Continuous measurements of left ventricular dimension were derived from the echocardiograms by digitization using manual tracing and a computer. Possible errors in the use of a sing...

Developmental changes in left and right ventricular diastolic filling patterns were determined noninvasively in isoflurane-anesthetized outbred ICR mice. Blood velocities in the mitral and tricuspid orifices were recorded in 16 embryos at days 14.5 (E14.5) and 17.5 of gestation (E17.5) using an ultrasound biomicroscope and also serially in three groups of postnatal mice aged 1-7 days (n = 23), ...

OBJECTIVE The relationship of mitral annular (MA) kinetics to left ventricular (LV) and left atrial (LA) function before and after mitral valve (MV) repair has not been well studied. Here we sought to provide comprehensive analysis that relates to MA motions, and LA and LV diastolic function post MV repair. METHODS Three-dimensional analyses of mitral annular motion, LA function, and LV volum...