Turk Kardiyol Dern Ars. 2007; 35(4): 237-241

The effectiveness of intraventricular pulsed Doppler E-wave dispersion in assessing diastolic functions of patients with atrial fibrillation

Eyüp Aygül, Özcan Yılmaz, Mustafa Yazıcı, Korhan Soylu, Firdovsi İbrahimov, Muharrem Arslandağ, Sabri Demircan, Osman Yeşildağ
Department Of Cardiology, Ondokuzmayıs University, Samsun, Turkey

OBJECTIVES
We investigated the effectiveness of intraventricular E-wave dispersion in assessing diastolic functions in patients with atrial fibrillation.

STUDY DESIGN
The study included 51 patients (32 females, 19 males; mean age 66±10 years) with atrial fibrillation. The patients were divided into two groups according to the presence (n=31; 60.8%) or absence (n=20; 39.2%) of diastolic dysfunction defined by propagation velocities (Vp) of <0.45 m/s and ≥0.45 m/s, respectively, determined by color M-mode Doppler echocardiography. Regional peak E-wave velocities were measured with pulsed wave Doppler echocardiography at every 1 cm from the mitral valve annulus to the left ventricular apex.

RESULTS
The highest and the lowest E-wave velocities were measured at E1 position (E velocity at 1 cm) and at E3 position (E velocity at 3 cm) in both groups, respectively. E2 and E3 velocities were significantly lower in patients with diastolic dysfunction (p<0.01 and p<0.001, respectively). It was noted that, in patients without diastolic dysfunction, the E-wave velocity measured at the mitral annulus was preserved even 3 cm away from the annulus in the left ventricular cavity (E0: 0.93±0.21 m/sec, E3: 0.87±0.25 m/sec; p=0.166). In contrast, regional E-wave velocities decreased significantly toward the apex in patients with diastolic dysfunction (E0: 0.87±0.20 m/sec, E3: 0.66±0.18 m/sec; p<0.001).

CONCLUSION
Our results demonstrate that intraventricular E-wave dispersion may be helpful in determining diastolic dysfunction in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Keywords: Atrial fibrillation/ultrasonography, blood flow velocity; diastole/physiology; echocardiography, Doppler, color; ventricular dysfunction, left/ultrasonography

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