E/e’ Ratio: An Index of LV Filling Pressures Revisited

V diastolic function. The mitral annulus early diastolic recoil velocity (e’) recorded by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) was introduced as an index of l V relaxation. Further, e’ velocity is combined with mitral peak velocity E to predict l V filling pressures 1 . I will discuss the supporting literature for the last statement and point to the limitations in its application. There are a number of animal 2, 3 and human 4-6 studies that have shown a significant relation between e’ velocity and l V relaxation as assessed invasively by the time constant of l V relaxation (tau). Importantly, there are other variables that determine e’ velocity which include l