Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular relaxation and cardiac filling pressures.

Echocardiography is the cornerstone for the assessment of left ventricular diastolic function in routine clinical practice. The technique can provide a comprehensive evaluation of left ventricular structure and function in patients with normal and depressed ejection fraction. Aside from two-dimensional imaging, Doppler measurements include mitral inflow, pulmonary venous flow, flow propagation velocity, and tissue Doppler imaging. Using recently published algorithms, left ventricular relaxation and filling pressures can be estimated, and the grade of diastolic dysfunction can be classified.