Introduction .– In patients with chronic heart failure, echocardiography provides important information on the mechanism of heart failure (HF) and defining the severity of the disease.

The aim of our study is to identify the echocardiographic characteristics of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), and to determine the predictors of improvement of echocardiographics parameters.

Materiels and methods .– This was a single centre, observational study. We included 1578 patients followed for CHF (heart failure which had lasted for more than 1 year) in Ibn Rochd Center of Cardiology from May 2006 to October 2010. All patients had a complete Doppler echocardiographic examination and all parameters were analysed. During follow-up, we defined an improvement of echocardigraphic parameters by an increase of left ventricular ejection fraction > 5% compared to baseline, change in cardiac filling pressures assessed by Doppler echocardiography from restrictive to non-restrictive pattern and decrease of RVSP by more than 20% compared to baseline.

Results .– The mean age of our patients was 64.82 ± 10.12 years (16–100), and 64% were men. CHF was due to ischaemic heart disease in 55%. Mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; biplane Simpson method) was 35% (10–69%). LVEF was ≤ 35% in 897 patients (57%), 35–50% in 505 patients (32%), and ≥ 50% only in 176 patients (11%). Mean Left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) was 58 mm (32–89), restrictive mitral inflow was found in 21% of patients and high LV filling pressures in 30% of patients. Pulmonary arterial systolic pressure was more than 35 mmHg in 22% of patients. The predictors of improvement in echocardiographic data were female sex, sinus rhythm and high doses of diuretics.

Conclustion .– Echocardiography is well qualified to meet the growing need for non-invasive imaging in the HF population. In fact, echocardiography provides important data for therapeutic decision-making and improves the outcome of patients with CHF.