Failure to unmask pseudonormal diastolic function by a valsalva maneuver: tricuspid insufficiency is a major factor.

Background: For the clinical assessment of patients with dyspnea, the inversion of the early (E) and late (A) transmitral flow during Valsalva maneuver (VM) frequently helps to distinguish pseudonormal from normal filling pattern. However, in an important number of patients, VM fails to reveal the change from dominant early mitral flow velocity toward larger late velocity.

Methods And Results: From December 2009 to October 2010, we selected consecutive patients with abnormal filling with (n=25) and without E/A inversion (n=25) during VM.

Doppler echocardiographic signs to differentiate between chronic lung disease and right ventricular dysfunction in a child with calcified pericardium.

A 7 year-old girl was admitted with history of low-grade fever, weight loss and occasional cough for the last 6 months. Tuberculosis was suspected, for which antituberculous treatment was initiated. Chest X-ray demonstrated calcification of the pericardium with chest miliary shadowing.

Diastolic heart failure can be diagnosed by comprehensive two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography.

There are many myocardial and non-myocardial conditions that cause heart failure with normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Among them, diastolic heart failure (heart failure due to diastolic dysfunction) is the most common cause of heart failure with normal LVEF. Diastolic heart failure easily can be diagnosed by comprehensive two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography, which can demonstrate abnormal myocardial relaxation, decreased compliance, and increased filling pressure in the setting of normal LV dimensions and preserved LVEF.

A novel method to assess systolic ventricular function using atrioventricular plane displacement--a study in young healthy males and patients with heart disease.

Analysis of atrioventricular plane displacement (AVPD) is a well established method for assessment of both systolic and diastolic ventricular function. For several years, AVPD has been a clinical tool and there are many current, as well as potential, areas of application. However, clinical work has shown that the traditional method for evaluation of systolic ventricular function, called total AVPD, does not temporally reflect true systole.