Sonographer’s Perspective of Evaluating Diastolic Function
INTRODUCTION Heart failure, a common ailment in older adults, is a major public health epidemic in the United States that affected 5.2 million people in 2006. Diagnosis of systolic heart…
Aging and Diastolic Heart Failure
INTRODUCTION The number of seniors in the United States and throughout the developed world is rising. As of 2003, roughly 36 million, or 12%, of the U.S. population were older…
Evaluation of Intracardiac Filling Pressures
INTRODUCTION Normal diastolic function allows a ventricle to fill to an adequate volume while maintaining normal diastolic pressures at rest, during exercise, and through a wide range of heart rates….
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…
