The Parametrized Diastolic Filling Formalism: Application in the Asklepios Population

The parametrized diastolic filling formalism is a kinematic model for early left ventricular diastolic function, and is believed to provide quantitative information on relaxation and stiffness. Application of this model in the Asklepios population provided normal values of the model parameters x0 (initial spring displacement), k (spring stiffness) and c (damping constant). In addition, a potentially important difference in c of about 20% between men and women was observed. The underlying mechanism is not clear and additional analyses are needed to verify whether or not this suggests intrinsic relaxation differences between men and women.Copyright © 2011 by ASME