The Natural History of Left Ventricular Filling Abnormalities: Assessment by Two‐Dimensional and Doppler Echocardiography

Doppler and two‐dimensional echocardiography are being increasingly used for the indirect assessment of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function. In this article the alterations in LV filling patterns that occur in patients with LV diastolic function are reviewed in the context of echocardiographic findings. A progression of LV filling abnormalities is presented in the sequential “stages” in which we believe they occur in most cardiac disease states. Patient symptoms, hemodynamics, pulmonary venous flow velocities, and left atrial function associated with the different LV filling patterns are also discussed.