POCUS for Diastolic Dysfunction: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Emergency and critical care physicians frequently encounter patients presenting with dyspnea and normal left ventricular systolic function who may benefit from early diastolic evaluation to determine acute patient management. The current American Society of Echocardiography Guidelines approach to diastolic evaluation is often impractical for point of care ultrasound (POCUS) evaluation, and few studies have evaluated the potential use of a simplified approach. This article reviews the literature on the use of a simplified diastolic evaluation to assist in determining acute patient management.

The 2023 Core Content of advanced emergency medicine ultrasonography

“…The accuracy of focused cardiac ultrasound in assessing diastolic function has been validated through comparisons with comprehensive echocardiography. 53 , 55 , 73 , 74 , 75 Current evidence has demonstrated the accuracy and clinical relevance of POCUS in detecting and characterizing regional wall motion abnormalities. 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 It allows for real‐time visualization of myocardial segments, enabling clinicians to assess regional wall motion and identify abnormalities indicative of ischemia, infarction, or other cardiac pathologies.…”