Estimation of Left Ventricular Wall Stiffness by Analysis of Late Diastolic Pressure Components

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is any abnormality in the filling of the left ventricle and is conventionally evaluated by analysis of the relaxation driven phase, or early diastole. LVDD has been shown to be a precursor to heart failure and the diagnosis and treatment for diastolic failure is less understood than for systolic failure. Diastole consists of two filling waves, early and late and is primarily dependent on ventricular relaxation and wall stiffness.