Diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility of echocardiographic indices for detecting left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease and normal ejection fraction.

Objective: The aim of present study was to assess the clinical utility and diagnostic accuracy of diastolic dysfunction criteria that were recommended in current American Society of Echocardiography and European Association of Echocardiography recommendations for prediction of increased LVEDP (>16 mmHg) in patients with coronary artery disease and normal EF.

Methods: Forty-five consecutive patients (mean age=61.5±10.3 years) referred for cardiac catheterization were enrolled in this prospective study. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging within 24 hours before cardiac catheterization. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) (LVEDP>16 mmHg, n=23; LVEDP≤16 mmHg, n=22). Receiver operating characteristics curve analyses were performed and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated for indices to detect high LVEDP.

Results: Among the indices, left atrial volume index (LAVI) ≥34 ml/m2 (sensitivity=60.0% and specificity=90.0%) and ratio of transmitral to septal annular velocities during early filling (septal E/e' ratio) ≥15 (sensitivity=30.4% and specificity=95.5%) had more reasonable sensitivity and specificity. Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis revealed that best predictors of high LVEDP were septal E/e' [area under curve (AUC)=0.694, standard error (SE)=0.66, p=0.01] and LAVI (AUC=0.669, SE=0.63, p=0.045]. There were statistically significant correlations between LVEDP and septal E/e' (r=0.541, p=0.001) and LAVI (r=0.461, p=0.002). A proposed algorithm consisting LAVI ≥34 ml/m2 and septal E/e' >8 could determine diastolic dysfunction with a 95.6% sensitivity and 54.5% specificity.

Conclusion: Septal E/e' (≥15) and LAVI (≥ 34 ml/m2) were the better predictors of the increased LVEDP than the other echocardiographic parameters. There were statistically significant moderate positive correlations of LVEDP with septal E/ e' and LAVI. Combination of LAVI and septal E/e' is useful to detect diastolic dysfunction.