Last week we discussed how the physiological determinants of diastole play a role in the evaluation method of determining diastolic function. This week, let’s talk about how pathophysiological factors can alter the findings in the presence of diastolic dysfunction.
Diastolic function is a complex process that simply refers to how well the heart performs during diastole, as blood is suctioned from the left atrium (LA) towards the apex of left ventricle (LV) at a low-pressure filling state. When the heart is unable to fill properly, filling pressures increase in order to allow proper filling and keep required cardiac output state. When these filling pressures increase, diastolic dysfunction occurs.
This week we are kicking off the diastolic function guideline series, hosted by our guest blog writer Michael Owen! But first, we need to cover the basics on ‘how-to‘ acquire the measurements needed to evaluate for diastolic function.
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