Tissue Doppler imaging observation of impact on aging and gender on left ventricular diastolic function and left ventricular filling pressure

Objective To evaluate the impact of aging and gender on left ventricular diastolic function and left ventricular filling pressure (LVFP) with tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). Methods Totally 213 healthy subjects were divided into 6 groups (aged 20—29,30—39,40—49,50—59,60—69 and 70—87 years). Mitral peak early diastolic transmitral flow velocity (E),mitral peak late diastolic transmitral flow velocity (A),E/A ratio were measured with pulse-wave Doppler. Peak early mitral annular velocity (Em),E/Em ratios were measured with TDI of lateral mitral annulus. Correlation of each parameter with age and gender was analyzed. Results E and E/A correlated negatively with age (r=-0.53,-0.70,all P0.01). A correlated positively with age (r=0.58,P0.01),Em correlated negatively with age (r=-0.75,P0.01),E/Em ratio correlated positively with age (r=0.41,P0.01). With aging,mitral E,E/A ratio statistically decreased,A increased,E/A ratio 1 emerged in subjects larger than 50 years. Em statistically decreased with aging,but E/Em ratio increased,especially in subjects larger than 70 years. Comparing male and famale of all ages,the mean E/Em for male was 6.04±1.05,6.57±1.87 for female (P0.05). Comparison between male and famale in each age group,among those aged 70 or older,E/Em ratio of lateral annulus was significantly higher in females than that in males (P0.01). Conclusion E,A,E/A ratio,Em and E/Em ratio are closely related with aging,and TDI is sensitive in evaluating of these indexes. In the elder population,diastolic function E/Em ratio deteriorates more significantly in the female than in the male. When left ventricular diastolic function and LVFP are evaluated with mitral pulse-wave Doppler and TDI in the elder subjects,the impact of aging and gender should be considered. Different reference value should be provided according to different age and gender.