Assessment of the Diastolic Dysfunction in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction by Analyzing LVIF Pattern on Pulsed Doppler Echocardiography

Abstract

Introduction:
Acute Myocardial infarction (AMI) is well known to produce impaired systolic function, whereas reperfusion may attenuate the measured decline in systolic functions”2. The concept of myocardial stunning has been proposed to explain the delayed recovery in systolic myocardial performance after AMI.

Methods:
Study Group:

Pulsed Doppler Echocardiogram were performed in 82 patients (62 men & 20 women) within 72 hours of admission with AMI as determined by typical history, standard electrocardiographic changes and an increased in cardiacenzymes.

II. Study Group:
The patient in this study could be separated into two groups that showed distinctly different mitral flow velocity patterns compared with normal subjects.

Discussion:
Alterations in LV filling dynamics may be due to a variety of mechanisms, including changes in myocardial stiffness, impaired LV relaxation, changes in right ventricular loading conditions, pericardial constraints, viscoelastic considerations and nonuniformity among others’1.

Conclusion:
The conclusion of the study was that LV filling is impaired during acute infarction with the predominant impairment in early diastole. Careful analysis of LVIF pattern may give us some clue about the filling pressure and this non-invasive assessment of  haemodynamic is extremely useful in a place like our hospital where we lack the facility of cardiac catheterization.