Cardiology clinics
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Doppler echocardiography can provide insight into the diastolic properties of the left ventricle. The hemodynamic origins of the diastolic mitral flow velocity profile are reviewed and Doppler information is compared to other measures of left ventricular diastolic function. Factors affecting the mitral diastolic flow velocity in both normal populations and pathologic conditions are discussed and the reported normal indexes of diastolic transmitral velocity are criticized.