Abnormal diastolic left ventricular posterior wall motion in left ventricular hypertrophy.
The left ventricular pressure-volume relationship is abnormal in left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). As a result, the left atrium empties more slowly than normal during the rapid filling phase of diastole, producing a characteristic abnormality of diastolic aortic root motion. In order to determine whether this altered LV filling is accompanied by a derangement of diastolic LV wall motion which might be useful in identifying the presence of altered chamber compliance, the M-mode echocardiograms of 60 patients with LVH secondary to aortic stenosis, hypertrophic subaortic stenosis, or hypertension, and those of 36 normal individuals were evaluated. Patients with LVH demonstrated abnormal LV posterior wall motion manifested by prolonged phases of rapid ventricular filling and atrial contraction (p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.05, respectively). The early diastolic wall motion abnormality can be readily detected by visual inspection of the echocardiogram. These findings support the concept of diastolic dysfunction in LVH and represent another echocardiographic feature of that condition.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003971:Diastole; D004452:Echocardiography; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D013318:Stroke Volume