Diastolic Dysfunction

[RBSub]

I am a 52 year old female who recently had an echo to track a 1+ mitral regur.  The echo is as follows:

Left atrium Normal size, No mass, turmor or thrombus identified
Left atrial appendage, not visualized
Left ventrible:  Normal LV cavity size and wall thickness.  Normal systolic function.  Ejection fraction 60%.  There is evidence for diastolic dysfunction by tissue Doppler imaging.

Normal left ventricular size and systolic function
Trace mitral regur.  No evidence of mitral valve prolapse

Aorta:  Normal sized aortic root
Right atrium:  Normal size, no  mass, turmor, or thrombus identified
Atrial septrum:  Normal:  No intra-atrial shunt identified by color flow velocity mapping
Right ventrcle:  Normal size and systolic function
Plumonary artery:  Normal size
Pericardium:  Normal No pericardial effusion
Cardiac masses:  None seem
Aortic valve:  Mildy scierotic trileaflet aortic Valve.  No aortic stenosis or regurgitation

Mitral valve:  Normal leaflet morphology with trace mitral regur.  No mitral valve prolapse is evident.

Pulmonic valve:  Normal leaflets with trace pulmonic regurgitation
Trisuspid valve:  Normal leaflets with trace tricuspid regurgitation

The word "dysfunction" doesn't thrill me.  I do not have hypertension.  I have no symptoms and exercise everyday.  In light of that...is this usually a "subclinical" finding if found on something on sensitive as tissue doppler?  Since I do not have hypertension is this finding most likely due to wall stiffening that comes as we get older?  I need perspective so I won't worry!

[Cleveland Clinic]

rbsub,

thanks for the post.

Diastolic function refers to the period of time that the heart relaxes during the cardiac cycle.  There is a natural tendancy for the heart to get stiffer as we age.  The true significance of this is a little unclear.  People with significant diastolic dysfunction can have symptoms similar to heart failure. Diastolic dysfunction is also contributes to symptoms in those that have other cardiac problems such as valvular lesions and systolic dysfunction.

Diastolic dysfunction is graded and there are different levels of dysfunction.  In the setting of the rest of your echo, you might ask your cardiologist what led to this label. There are multiple markers of diastolic function on an echocardiogram. I would also inquire about the other markers such as mitral inflow, and pulmonary vein patterns to see if they show evidence of diastolic changes.

ini the absence of symptoms and modifyable risk factors determined through a thorough history and physical by your internist, this may not carry much significance in your future health.

good luck