Gender differences of pulsed and tissue Doppler indexes of left ventricular diastolic function in healthy subjects.

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine the normative Doppler values and gender differences in left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in healthy subjects at each decade of life.

Methods: Four hundred sixty-seven male and 455 female healthy subjects, aged 20-90 years, underwent standard echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging. We divided the subjects into seven groups, based on the decade of their age (i.e., 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s), and measured standard echocardiographic parameters and Doppler indices.

Results: Females younger than 50 years had significantly higher mitral E velocity, and females older than 40 years had significantly higher mitral A velocity, compared with their male counterparts. There was no difference in mitral E to A velocity ratio (E/A) at any age. The tissue Doppler method showed significantly lower early diastole velocity of the mitral annulus (E a) in females-especially females older than 50 years-than in males (10.7 ± 3.7 versus 11.2 ± 3.7 cm/s, p < 0.025). Mean E/E a ratio was higher in females than in males (6.9 ± 2.4 versus 6.0 ± 2.0, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion: Our results indicate gender differences in Doppler indexes of LV diastolic function in healthy subjects. In clinical settings, assessment of LV diastolic function using the Doppler method should take into account patient gender.