Diastolic Dysfunction Causes

Any condition or process that leads to stiffening of the left ventricle can lead to diastolic dysfunction.

Some causes of left ventricular stiffening include:

• high blood pressure (i.e. hypertension, where, as a result of left ventricular muscle hypertrophy to deal with the high pressure, the left ventricle has become stiff)
• aortic stenosis of any cause (here as with hypertension, the ventricular muscle has hypertrophied and thence become stiff, as a result of the increased pressure load placed on it by the stenosis)
• scarred heart muscle (e.g. occurring after a heart attack) (scars are relatively stiff)
• diabetes (stiffening occurs presumably as a result of glycosylation of heart muscle)
• severe systolic dysfunction that has led to ventricular dilation (i.e when the ventricle has been stretched to a certain point, any further attempt to stretch it more, as by blood trying to enter it from the left atrium, meets with increased resistance - it has become stiff
• reversible stiffening as can occur during periods of cardiac ischemia
• Time variables such as negative shift of E/A ratio deserve further elaboration of (abundant) Wiki evidence in support of Diastolic dysfunction.

Further Reading

• What is Diastolic Dysfunction?
• Diastolic Dysfunction Pathophysiology
• Diastolic Dysfunction Diagnosis
• Diastolic Dysfunction Treatment

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