Risk Factors and Causes
Any condition or process that leads to stiffening of the left ventricle can lead to diastolic dysfunction. Causes of left ventricular stiffening include:
- High blood pressure (i.e. hypertension, where - as a result of left ventricular muscle hypertrophy to deal with the high pressure - the left ventricle has become stiff)
- Aortic stenosis of any cause (here, as with hypertension, the ventricular muscle has hypertrophied and thence become stiff as a result of the increased pressure load placed on it by the stenosis)
- Scarred heart muscle (e.g. that occurring after a heart attack). Scars are relatively stiff tissue compared to normal myocardium
- Diabetes (stiffening occurs, presumably, as a result of glycosylation of heart muscle)
- Severe systolic dysfunction that has led to ventricular dilation (i.e. when the ventricle has been stretched to a certain point, any further attempt to stretch it more - as by blood trying to enter it from the left atrium - meets with increased resistance due to increased stiffness)
- Reversible stiffening, as can occur during periods of cardiac ischemia
Causes of isolated right ventricular stiffening are uncommon. These causes include:
- Constrictive cardiomyopathy
- Restrictive cardiomyopathy, which includes Amyloidosis (most common restrictive), Sarcoidosis and fibrosis.
Read more about this topic: Diastolic Heart Failure
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