3. Courtois M, Kovacs SJ, Ludbrook PA. Physiological earlydiastolic intraventricular pressure gradient is lost during acutemyocardial ischemia. Circulation 1990;81:1688-96.

4. Wu CC, Lin LC, Ho YL, Liau CS, Lee YT. Intraventricularisovolumic relaxation flow patterns improve the predictingpower of Doppler echocardiography for the left ventricularfilling pressure in patients with anterior wall myocardial infarc-tion. Cardiology 2000;94:200-7.

5. Gilbert JC, Glantz SA. Determinants of left ventricular fillingand of the diastolic pressure-volume relation. Circ Res 1989;64:827-52.

6. Eichhorn EJ, Willard JE, Alvarez L, Kim AS, Glamann DB,Risser RC, et al. Are contraction and relaxation coupled inpatients with and without congestive heart failure? Circulation1992;85:2132-9.

7. Ohte N, Narita H, Akita S, Kurokawa K, Hayano J, Kimura G.Striking effect of left ventricular systolic performance on prop-agation velocity of left ventricular early diastolic filling flow.J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2001;11:1070-4.

8. Nikolic SD, Feneley MP, Pajaro OE, Rankin JS, Yellin EL.Origin of regional pressure gradients in the left ventricleduring early diastole. Am J Physiol 1995;268:H550-7.

9. Ohte N, Narita H, Akita S, Kurokawa K, Hayano J, SugawaraM, et al. The mechanism of emergence and clinical signifi-cance of apically directed intraventricular flow during isovolu-mic relaxation. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2002;15:715-22.

10. Ohte N, Narita H, Hashimoto T, Kobayashi K, Akita S,Fujinami T. Left ventricular isovolumic relaxation flow and

left ventricular systolic performance. J Am Soc Echocardiogr1995;8:690-5.

11. Ohte N, Narita H, Hashimoto T, Hayano J, Akita S, Kuro-kawa K. Differentiation of abnormal relaxation pattern withaging from abnormal relaxation pattern with coronary arterydisease in transmitral flow with the use of tissue Dopplerimaging of the mitral annulus. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 1999;12:629-35.

12. Weiss JL, Frederiksen JW, Weisfeldt ML. Hemodynamic de-terminants of the time-course of fall in canine left ventricularpressure. J Clin Invest 1976;58:751-60.

13. Chapman CB, Backer O, Reynolds J, Bonte FJ. Use of biplanecine fluorography for measurement of left ventricular volume.Circulation 1958;18:1105-17.

14. Altieri PI, Wilt SM, Leighton RF. Left ventricular wall motionduring the isovolumic relaxation period. Circulation 1973;48:499-505.

15. Ruttley MS, Adams DF, Cohn PF, Abrams HL. Shape andvolume changes during isovolumic relaxation I normal andasynergic ventricles. Circulation 1974;50:306-16.

16. Edvardsen T, Rodevand O, Aakhus S, Bjornerheim R, IhlenH. Reversal of intraventricular flow propagation during iso-volumic relaxation: a marker of anterior wall dysfunction.J Am Soc Echocardiogr 1999;12:801-10.

17. Tanaka Y, Nakamura K, Kuroiwa N, Odachi M, Mawatari K,Onimaru M, et al. Isovolumic relaxation flow in patients withischemic heart disease. J Am Coll Cardiol 1993;21:1357-64.

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography1230 Yanada et al December 2003