Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction occurs due to a variable combination of abnormal myocardial relaxation and reduced ventricular compliance. The diagnosis of diastolic congestive heart failure is controversial. Some studies suggest that up to one-third of older people with symptomatic congestive heart failure (CHF) have echocardiograph evidence of diastolic dysfunction. Other authors have ...

In the presence of any left ventricular dysfunction, be it systolic or diastolic, there is an increased risk of developing heart failure (HF). Survival expectancy has been improved in HF patients with reduced systolic function, but not for those with a normal ejection fraction.1,2 Moderate or severe diastolic dysfunction, which is predictive of all-cause death, has a prevalence of 7% in asympto...