Diastolic cardiac function is synonymous with long-axis systolic function: a novel concept in cardiac function.

AIMS: There has been recent speculation on the relationship between diastolic cardiac function and long-axis cardiac function. The goal of this study was to obtain conclusive evidence regarding the relationship between these parameters.
METHODS: Echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging were performed consecutively in 33 subjects. Longitudinal fractional shortening and fractional shortening of the left ventricular wall length were measured in each procedure and the relationships with diastolic cardiac function were assessed.
RESULTS: Diastolic cardiac function and long-axis systolic function in each procedure were significantly correlated. Spearman coefficients for correlations between longitudinal fractional shortening measured echocardiographically and diastolic cardiac function parameters were 0.76 (P < 0.0001) for E/A, -0.77 (P < 0.0001) for E/e', 0.87 (P < 0.0001) for e', and 0.91 (P < 0.0001) for e'/a'.
CONCLUSIONS: Long-axis cardiac function correlates well with diastolic cardiac function. e'/a' showed a strong correlation with longitudinal fractional shortening and is a good candidate for use as an index for assessment of long-axis cardiac function.