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Echocardiographic indices of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in 647 individuals with preserved left ventricular systolic function
Author(s) -
Pedersen Frants,
Raymond Ilan,
Madsen Lene H.,
Mehlsen Jesper,
Atar Dan,
Hildebrandt Per
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
european journal of heart failure
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.149
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1879-0844
pISSN - 1388-9842
DOI - 10.1016/j.ejheart.2003.12.003
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiology , asymptomatic , ejection fraction , diastole , population , heart failure , doppler echocardiography , atrial fibrillation , diastolic function , blood pressure , environmental health
Background: Knowledge about the occurrence of isolated diastolic dysfunction (DD) in the general population is limited. Aims: This population study was performed to assess the frequency and distribution pattern of echocardiographic indices of left ventricular (LV) DD in an elderly population aged 50–89 years in which LV systolic function is preserved. Methods and results: The study population ( n =764) recruited from the background population answered a heart failure questionnaire and underwent echocardiography. Excluding subjects with a LV ejection fraction <50% or atrial fibrillation, diastolic function was evaluated in 647 subjects. The frequency of impaired relaxation according to earlier guidelines was 0.5%, vs. 2.5% using age‐ and gender‐specific normal values of ‘E/A‐ratio’ and ‘deceleration time’. In a subpopulation of 167 participants, 6.6% had ‘pseudonormalisation’. No difference was found in the frequency of dyspnea in subjects with impaired relaxation or ‘pseudonormalisation’ compared to subjects with normal filling pattern. Conclusion: The prevalence of LV impaired relaxation was highly dependent on the choice of normal (cut‐off) values for Doppler indices. Furthermore, our findings suggest that either isolated DD is often asymptomatic, or that Doppler flow derived parameters as a diagnostic method for assessing DD have a low specificity when used as a screening tool in the general population.