Clinical Recommendations for Echocardiography Laboratories for Assessment of Left Ventricular Diastolic Function and Filling Pressures

In 2016, the American Society of Echocardiography and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging published an updated diastolic function assessment guidelines document with the objectives of simplifying the approach and decreasing the interobserver variability in determining left ventricular (LV) filling pressure and grading LV diastolic function. Emphasis was placed on fewer variables, namely mitral inflow velocities, biplane left atrial maximum systolic volume, peak tricuspid regurgitation velocity, and mitral annulus early diastolic velocity (e′) at septal and lateral sides of the mitral annulus. The guidelines emphasized the importance of taking clinical context into account, as well as other two-dimensional and Doppler findings.