Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has advanced the role of the cardiovascular anesthesiologist and increased his/her active role and obligations during perioperative patient care. Assessment of global and regional left ventricular (LV) function consists of two-dimensional (2D) or Doppler evaluation of cardiac structures and their interaction with blood flow. The techniques used are mostly ...

Cardiac amyloidosis is a cardiomyopathy characterized by increased left ventricular (LV) wall thickness and normal or decreased LV cavity size. Congestive heart failure in cardiac amyloidosis is generally considered a predominantly diastolic phenomenon, with systolic dysfunction only occurring in late-stage disease. Echocardiography is a noninvasive, reproducible method of assessing cardiac fea...

Background: Transmitral Doppler flow indices are used to evaluate diastolic function. Recently, velocities measured by Doppler tissue imaging have been used as an index of left ventricular relaxation. Objective: To determine whether Doppler tissue velocities are influenced by alterations in preload. Methods: Left ventricular preload was altered in 17 patients (all men, mean (SD) age, 49 (8) yea...