Congenital Heart Disease
INTRODUCTION As invasive and noninvasive methods of assessment of ventricular performance evolve, the clinical importance of diastolic function in both children and adults with congenital heart disease has become better…
Primary Restrictive, Infiltrative, and Storage Cardiomyopathies
“A classification serves to bridge the gap between ignorance and knowledge.” J. F. Goodwin INTRODUCTION Historically, restrictive cardiomyopathies were among the three primary forms of idiopathic heart muscle disease characterized…
Role of Neurohormones
INTRODUCTION The critical role of neurohormonal factors in regulating circulation and volume status has been known for over a century. The importance of neurohormonal activation in heart failure pathophysiology was…
Ventricular-Arterial Interaction in Patients with Heart Failure and a Preserved Ejection Fraction
INTRODUCTION The mammalian cardiovascular system is designed to provide adequate flow at physiologic pressures both at rest and under a broad range of demands. Since blood flow is pulsatile, changes…
Evaluation of Right Ventricular Diastolic Function
INTRODUCTION Assessment of right ventricular (RV) function is an important component of the comprehensive evaluation of cardiac function in patients with known or suspected heart disease. RV function may be…
Echo-Based Approach to the Management of Diastolic Heart Failure
INTRODUCTION Heart failure is a clinical syndrome of signs and symptoms resulting from cessation of normal heart function whereby the heart is not able to pump enough blood to meet…
Pacing and Diastolic Heart Failure
INTRODUCTION According to the American Heart Association, nearly 5 million Americans are living with heart failure, and approximately 550,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Diastolic heart failure (DHF) contributes…
Pericardial Diseases: Constriction and Pericardial Effusion
INTRODUCTION Normal pericardium consists of an outer sac, the fibrous pericardium; and an inner double-layered sac, the serous pericardium. The visceral layer of the serous pericardium, or epicardium, covers the…
Exercise Intolerance in Diastolic Heart Failure
INTRODUCTION Exercise intolerance is the primary symptom of chronic diastolic heart failure (DHF). This chapter discusses the fundamental aspects of exercise physiology and the assessment, pathophysiology, and potential treatment of…
Global and Regional Systolic Function of the Left Ventricle in Diastolic Heart Failure
INTRODUCTION In diastolic heart failure, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is normal and the dominant functional abnormality resides in diastole. Thus, there is increased passive stiffness with impaired relaxation…
