Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is generally defined by echocardiographic indices. When discussing"congestive heart failure secondary to left ventricular diastolic dysfunction" the left ventricular ejection fraction must be >0.40 (>40%).
  • In diastolic dysfunction, the ventricle may fill adequately, but it does so at an abnormally high pressure which produces heart failure.

Besides the ejection fraction of >0.40, key echocardiographic findings are a reduced ratio of early to late ventricular filling (reduced E/A ratio) or indirect indices of elevated left atrial, pulmonary venous, or left ventricular diastolic pressures.