Diastolic filling properties in different forms of left ventricular hypertrophy, assessed by 2-D echocardiography.

In order to study the influence of various kinds of left ventricular hypertrophy on left ventricular filling pattern, 20 patients (five dilated cardiomyopathy, five hypertension, five end-stage renal disease, five hypertrophic cardiomyopathy), and five normals were studied by M-mode and pulsed 2D-Doppler echocardiography. Left ventricular dimensions, volumes and mass were derived from standard M-mode echocardiograms. Doppler velocity measurements of mitral inflow provided calculation of left ventricular diastolic filling parameters. While left ventricular diastolic function bore no relation to the impairment of left ventricular systolic function, there was a statistically significant correlation of left ventricular mass/volume ratio and impairment of left ventricular diastolic function. In patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the parameters varied widely, and additional factors seem to determine left ventricular diastolic function in this group.