title: Evidence of cardiac suction in the presence of high end-diastolic filling pressure: a case report.
abstract: Cardiac suction has been previously demonstrated in the normal heart and in cardiac diseases characterized by a normal or reduced end-diastolic ventricular pressure. We report a patient with tight mitral stenosis and severe tricuspid regurgitation who provides the evidence of cardiac suction, despite the presence of increased end-diastolic pressures. The negative diastolic pressures observed in our patient appear to be related to the preservation of a vigorous contraction of both ventricles resulting in small end-systolic volumes. In this setting the elastic potential energy stored in the myocardium during each vigorous contraction is released during diastole, thus creating a negative pressure which sucks blood into the ventricles.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Catheter Laboratory, Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, European Hospital, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tomai
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Crea
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gaspardone
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Paulis
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Gioffrè
mesh_terms: D003971:Diastole; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008946:Mitral Valve Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014262:Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*; D017725:Ventricular Pressure