Examples of echocardiographic transmitral flow patterns and myocardial velocity gradients

The top panel (A) shows transmitral flow patterns ,and the bottom panel shows myocardial velocity gradients (MVGs) from normal subjects, patients with hypertensive heart disease (HHD), and patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). In HHD, there is a decrease in E and E/A and an increase in deceleration time of the early diastolic filling velocity (DcT). These variables were not altered in DCM compared with normals. By contrast, the peak MVGs were lower in HHD and DCM compared with normals.