New approaches to the Doppler echocardiographic assessment of diastolic function: from research laboratory to clinical practice

Abstract

Over the past decade, Doppler echocardiography has become a well-established tool for the diagnosis of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Unfortunately, in many clinical situations traditional Doppler indices of transmitral and pulmonary venous flow are inconclusive, primarily due to their dependence on left atrial pressure. Recently, new Doppler indices that are much less dependent on preload have been developed, based on intraventricular flow propagation and intrinsic myocardial velocity. These methodologies provide direct assessment of ventricular relaxation and the small intraventricular pressure gradients essential to efficient filling of the ventricle. We review in this article the theoretical and experiment background of these new echo techniques as well as how they can be implemented in routine clinical practice.