Doppler echocardiographic assessment of diastolic ventricular function: transmitral and pulmonary venous flow indices

Echocardiography has emerged as the non-invasive method of choice to evaluate congestive heart failure. In addition to its ability to assess systolic function, it has been increasingly used in the evaluation and diagnosis of diastolic dysfunction. This article will discuss the basic physiology of diastole, the complex interaction of factors that determine its course, and the transmitral and pulmonary venous flow Doppler correlates of diastolic events. Comprehensive interrogation of transmitral and pulmonary vein flows reliably predict the hemodynamic condition of the patient, define the spectrum of ventricular diastolic abnormalities and render unique prognostic data. A critical Doppler examination of these flows adds important information, non-invasively, to the clinical assessment of the patient with diastolic dysfunction. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.