Editorial ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY AND DIASTOLIC FUNCTION

atients with heart defects frequently present with signs and symptoms of systolic function failure. However, recent studies have demonstrated that the abnormalities of diastolic function have an equally significant role in the development of heart failure [1,2]. Currently it is accepted that between 30-50 % of patients with clinical heart failure present normal systolic function, pointing to the diastolic dysfunction as being responsible for the physiopathologic abnormalities. This fact corroborates the previously described hypothesis of the ischemic cascade in which the diastolic dysfunction precedes systolic dysfunction. Thus, it is important to understand and to recognize abnormalities of diastolic filling to arrive at the correct diagnosis