Diastolic Dysfunction Of The Left Ventricle

Abstract

Much has been learnt about the mechanics of the cardiac muscular chambers since the classic animal experiments on the animal heart donein the last century.With the ready availability ofthe echocardiogram to thepractisingphysicians, his reliance on what he could see and measure, i.e., the systolicfunction gave him a powerful routine tool. It was then that he slowly discovered what had been known all along by the lab oriented and the researcher, thatpeople infrank congestive failure would turn out to have normal systolicfunction and some ofthose with large hearts but asymptomatic would turn out to have poor systolicfunction. Over the years,systolicfunction ofthe left ventricle has alsoproven to be the most reliable predictor ofsurvival and superior even to coronary anatomy alone.Once again man learns that what is not visible may be equally important! Even more so?