Evaluation of Left Diastolic Function in Dilated Cardiomyopathy According to the 2016 ASE/EACVI Recommendations

Objectives: To assess left ventricular diastolic function by using echocardiography in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, and the relationship between left ventricular diastolic function and left ventricular dilatation, New York Heart Association (NYHA) heart failure index, left ventricular ejection fraction, and left ventricular fractional shortening. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with primary dilated cardiomyopathy hospitalized in Hue Central Hospital from April 2018 to August 2020. Results: The mean end-diastolic left ventricular volume was 133.57 +/- 31.58 mL and the mean end-systolic left ventricular volume was 99.9 +/- 26.03 mL. The mean left atrial volume was 61.63 +/- 27.13 mL. The mean end-diastolic and end-systolic left ventricular diameters were 66.11 +/- 7.3 mm and 57.7 +/- 8.02 mm, respectively. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 24.68 +/- 5.97%. The mean left ventricular fractional shortening was 12.91 +/- 4.55%. The highest rate was grade II diastolic dysfunction (44.6%), followed by grade III diastolic dysfunction (35.8%) and grade I diastolic dysfunction at 19.6%. There was a moderate positive correlation between the left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and the NYHA class of heart failure with r=0.445, p<0.001. All dilated cardiomyopathy patients in the study group had mainly grade II-III severe diastolic dysfunction. Conclusions: Routine evaluation of diastolic function in patients with heart failure can help in elucidation of pathogenesis and management of patients. This dysfunction was clearly demonstrated by the change in the parameters of the evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function on echocardiography according to the 2016 ASE/EACVI recommendations, a new recommendation introduced to approach the assessment of diastolic function in a more convenient and easier way.