Echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular filling pressure in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: usefulness of inferior vena cava measurements and 2016 EACVI/ASE recommendations

Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is a key examination for the evaluation of LVFP (1). The non-invasive diagnosis of an abnormal increase in LVFP by TTE remains difficult to interpret in a significant proportion of patients (2-4). However, the TTE-based estimation of LVFP is important for several reasons. It is a key element for the diagnosis, treatment guidance, and prognostic evaluation of HF (5). Although heart catheterization is the reference method to measure LVFP, this invasive procedure cannot be routinely performed, with TTE therefore remaining the first-line method (1).

Source: Journal of Cardiac Failure - January 29, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Emmanuelle Berthelot, Patrick Jourdain, Minh Tam Bailly, Amir Bouchachi, Barnabas Gellen, Alexandra Rouquette, Thibaud Damy, Philippe Herv é, Denis Chemla, Patrick Assayag Source Type: research