What is Diastolic Dysfunction?

There are two parts to the pumping action of the heart. The first part is called diastole, when blood collects in the lower heart chambers (right and left ventricles) as it is pushed through the tricuspid and mitral valves.

Once the ventricles are filled with blood, the second part of the pumping action begins. The ventricles contract and blood is pushed from the right ventricle into the pulmonary artery and from the left ventricle into the aortic valves. This part is called systole.

The pathophysiology of diastolic dysfunction

Diastolic dysfunction refers to when the diastole part of this action is abnormal. The ventricles do not properly relax and become stiff meaning they cannot fill with blood properly. This causes blood to “dam up” in other parts of the body.

Pressure in the ventricles then increases as blood from the next heartbeat tries to enter. This leads to extra pressure and fluid building up in the vessels of the lungs (referred to as pulmonary congestion) or in the vessels that lead back to the heart (referred to as systemic congestion).

Pulmonary congestion causes fluid or transudate to leak from these vessels into the lung alveoli, causing pulmonary edema. This condition hampers oxygenation of blood in the lungs, resulting in shortness of breath and (in some instances) even death if the condition is not discovered and treated swiftly.

The systemic congestion has detrimental effects on other organs in the body such as the kidney and liver, as a result of poor organ perfusion. Swelling and congestion may also occur in the legs and within the abdomen.

Diastolic dysfunction is a common problem, with many people aged older than 70 years having the condition. In the majority of cases, the condition is not severe enough to lead to diastolic heart failure.

Diastolic Heart Failure diagnoisis and treatment

Symptoms and causes of diastolic dysfunction

Diastolic dysfunction itself often does not cause any symptoms. However, if the problem progresses to the point that it starts to affect other organs and body parts, diastolic heart failure is diagnosed. In those situations common symptoms include:

  • Difficulty breathing and shortness of breath. Initially, this may only occur when exercising, but as the illness progresses, breathing can become problematic during any activity, including resting or lying down.
  • Unusual weight gain or swelling (edema) in the ankles, legs and abdomen.
  • Irregular or rapid heartbeat.

The main causes of diastolic dysfunction are:

  • Chronic hypertension
  • Coronary heart disease
  • Aging
  • Aortic stenosis – the narrowing of a heart valve
  • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – thickened and stiffness in walls of the heart
  • Restrictive cardiomyopathy – where scars or deposits have led to stiff heart muscles

Diagnosis and treatment

Both the diagnosis and treatment of isolated diastolic failure often represent a challenge, since the symptoms can be very similar to systolic heart failure. It is essential to distinguish between these two conditions as the treatment for one condition can worsen the other.

When diastolic dysfunction is diagnosed, it is by echocardiography (ECG), which enables assessment of diastolic relaxation and ventricular stiffness and thickening. It may also provide clues as to the cause of the problem.

Diastolic dysfunction is treated by aggressive management of the underlying cause. Approaches may include:

  • Strict control of hypertension
  • Aggressive treatment of coronary artery disease
  • Careful management or arrhythmia
  • The use of diuretics to control pulmonary congestion

If the underlying cause cannot be identified, a doctor will consider the possibility of undiagnosed hypertension, in which case careful monitoring is initiated. Undiagnosed coronary artery disease is also considered, in which case exercising testing can be used as a diagnostic tool.

Further Reading

Last Updated: Feb 26, 2019

Sally Robertson

Written by

Sally Robertson

Sally first developed an interest in medical communications when she took on the role of Journal Development Editor for BioMed Central (BMC), after having graduated with a degree in biomedical science from Greenwich University.

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Comments

  1. Sridhar Vembar Sridhar Vembar India says:

    Yesterday my wife aged 65 years, underwent Eco cardial test. The result were, Concentric LVH, Sclerotic Aortic valve and grade 2, Diastolic dysfunction.The pathologist when enquired said your Doctor will advise you. What that means?

  2. yesenia Guerra yesenia Guerra United States says:

    I had an Echocardiogram 2 weeks ago.Today my Cardiologist gave the results it said I have Left Diastolic Dysfanction. He told that is not bad.That the Echo is normal. I requested Copies of the Echo for my records.He didn't explained me almost nothing. Maybe I wil need to find another Cardiologist who can explained me better it.

  3. Lee Martinez Lee Martinez United States says:

    on 7/26/2016 i was said to be in diastolic heart failure moderate. the problem is I do not have hypertension and i'm unable to be prescribe  ACE 1 medication. my blood pressure runs between 112/70 to below 100/48. My incidents felt like someone was squeezing my chest and it hurt like heck to breath. Normally i get the feeling of a air pocket on the left side of my chest and i just push down on it and take a deep breath and it will feel fine. So when then can find the underline cause, no meds.

  4. Toni Murray Toni Murray United Kingdom says:

    I'm from the UK and I've been diagnosed with Diastolic Dysfunction of the Left Ventricle, Aortic Regurgitation and Atrial Fib...  I was told it was mild but was not explained fully, therefore I looked all up on our National Health Service (NHS) web page and it has now helped me to understand further and what to look out for should I deteriorate further.  I do know that stress seems to affect me.

  5. Rahul Sharma Rahul Sharma India says:

    I am 25 in age .Yesterday I took heart echo test.
    All things are normal but it also shows that I have dialostic dysfunction. what does it mean?

    • Satish Karlapudi Satish Karlapudi India says:

      Hi Rahul,
          how are you feeling now ,My echo also shown dialostic dysfunction grade 1 ,that day when I went to echo I was nervous and my heart beat was raised to 109 ,not sure due to that it shown as dialostic dysfunction grade 1 or not

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
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