A noninvasive method for characterizing ventricular diastolic filling dynamics

We developed a novel method for estimating a single parameter (τ_D) which summarizes the diastolic filling dynamics of the ventricle that governs the effects of diastolic filling time on stroke volume. The method involves the analysis of beat-to-beat fluctuations in heart rate, arterial blood pressure, and left ventricular stroke volume, each of which may be measured noninvasively in humans. In order to evaluate the method, we constructed a computational model of the human cardiovascular system. We applied the method to data generated from the computational model and found close agreement between the estimated and actual τ_D. We also demonstrated with computational model examples that the method could be utilized to monitor increasing degrees of cardiac tamponade and mitral stenosis, two cardiovascular disease processes which prohibit the ventricles from filling adequately. This model-based study motivates the experimental validation of the method.