Noninvasive estimation of left ventricular filling pressures

Assessment of left ventricular (LV) pressures is frequently needed in the daily care of patients with and without cardiovascular disease. Such information assumes even greater relevance in the care of unstable patients for whom the timely use of appropriate therapy can be life saving. In addition, in certain subsets of patients, such as those with acute myocardial infarction, systolic heart failure, and diastolic heart failure, useful incremental prognostic information is provided by echocardiographic estimates of filling pressures.1-3 In this chapter, I discuss the available echocardiographic methods for the assessment of LV filling pressures, with special emphasis on different subsets of patients stratified according to LV ejection fraction (LVEF), cardiac rhythm, and valvular heart disease.