Abstract
Sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction has traditionally been thought of as principally affecting systolic heart function. One of the primary reasons for this concept is that systolic dysfunction is relatively easy to conceptualize, visualize, and measure. With the advent of preload-independent measurements for diastolic function, both measurement and conceptual difficulties are being resolved, and a new realm of evidence is beginning to emerge regarding the aberrations that are found during cardiac relaxation in sepsis. A recent article in Critical Care brings this issue into sharper focus.
Highlights
In the previous issue of Critical Care, Joulin and colleagues [1] describe an animal model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)induced impaired myocardial systolic and diastolic function
With the advent of preload-independent measurements for diastolic function, both measurement and conceptual difficulties are being resolved, and a new realm of evidence is beginning to emerge regarding the aberrations that are found during cardiac relaxation in sepsis
In some patients with sepsis, a reversible component to impaired ventricular relaxation has been demonstrated [4], which would imply that the energy-requiring component of diastolic function is more perturbed in certain patients
Summary
In the previous issue of Critical Care, Joulin and colleagues [1] describe an animal model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)induced impaired myocardial systolic and diastolic function. Sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction has traditionally been thought of as principally affecting systolic heart function. With the advent of preload-independent measurements for diastolic function, both measurement and conceptual difficulties are being resolved, and a new realm of evidence is beginning to emerge regarding the aberrations that are found during cardiac relaxation in sepsis.
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