Abnormal left ventricular filling in patients with sustained myocardial relaxation: Assessment of diastolic parameters using radionuclide angiography and echocardiography

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Abstract
Parameters of left ventricular filling obtained from time-activity curves of radionuclide angiograms were compared with parameters of myocardial relaxation from digitized M-mode curves of the free wall endocardium in 25 consecutive patients. Eight patients had normal left ventricular systolic and diastolic function. Five patients with low ejection fraction (EF < 50%) also had abnormal values of peak filling rate (PFR), time to peak filling rate (Tr), and/or time constant of endocardial retraction (Te). Twelve patients with normal EF had three (40%), two (40%), or one (20%) of the diastolic parameters within the pathological range. Tr correlated significantly with Te (r=0.88, pe prolongation always had high values of Tr. One of the diastolic parameters (PFR) correlated significantly with EF (r=0.60, p<0.01). Parameters of left ventricular filling and myocardial relaxation are thus abnormal in many patients with normal systolic function, indicating that diastolic parameters may be more sensitive to myocardial deterioration.