Key points Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) provides an accurate diagnosis of the cause of mitral regurgitation (MR) in most patients, although three-dimensional transesophageal imaging (TEE) often is needed for decisions about timing and type of intervention. Primary MR is caused by…
Comprehensive assessment of ventricular diastolic function is a complex process. Full elucidation generally requires invasive measurements, such as left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (EDP), the time constant of isovolumic left ventricular (LV) relaxation (τ), the pressure-volume (P-V) relationship of the ventricle…
Functional Anatomy of the Left Ventricle The left ventricle is a hollow muscular shell that is capable of ejecting more than 100 mL of blood at over 200 mm Hg of pressure and then filling with the same quantity of…