Importance of left ventricular systolic function in the assessment of left ventricular diastolic function with Doppler transmitral flow velocity recording.

To study the effect of left ventricular systolic function on the Doppler transmitral flow velocity pattern, Doppler echocardiographic variables were correlated with hemodynamic indexes in 11 control subjects and 58 patients with heart disease. All underwent cardiac catheterization performed with use of a Millar micromanometer. The time constant of left ventricular isovolumetric pressure decrease and left ventricular end-diastolic myocardial stiffness was calculated. The 58 patients were classified into two groups according to ejection fraction: group I (n = 30; ejection fraction greater than 55%) and group II (n = 28; ejection fraction less than 50%). Compared with the control subjects, patients in group I had impairment only of left ventricular relaxation (time constant 47 +/- 9 vs. 38 +/- 3 ms; p less than 0.01), whereas patients in group II had, in addition to impaired left ventricular relaxation (time constant 52 +/- 11 vs. 38 +/- 3 ms; p less than 0.01), increased preload, increased pulmonary capillary pressure (12 +/- 8 vs. 5 +/- 3 mm Hg; p less than 0.01) and increased myocardial stiffness (2,018 +/- 980 vs. 1,050 +/- 218 g/cm2; p less than 0.01). In group I, there was a significant partial correlation coefficient between the time constant and deceleration half-time (r = 0.54). In group II, a strong correlation existed between myocardial stiffness and peak atrial filling velocity (r = -0.71) and between myocardial stiffness and the ratio of peak atrial to peak rapid filling velocity (r = -0.71).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)