Clarification on the role of LV untwisting in LV “relaxation” and diastolic filling

Abstract

Sirs:

In their recent article, Maufrais et al. [ 1] reported novel data on the left ventricle’s (LV) muscular function in aging athletes. Their study elegantly contributes to the current framework of ‘LV mechanics’ in health and disease [ 2]. However, the interpretation of the novel findings—as presented in the title of their paper—deserves important clarification in relation to (a) the definition of LV “relaxation”, (b) the specific relationship between LV untwisting rate and early diastolic filling velocity, E, and (c) the choice of parameters to examine the temporal significance of LV untwisting rate.