The May issue of JASE includes an original investigation titled, “Association of Impaired Relaxation Mitral Inflow Pattern (Grade 1 Diastolic Function) With Long-Term Noncardiovascular and Cardiovascular Mortality.” Lead author Kathleen A. Young, MD, remarks, “In this
retrospective study of community patients without heart failure and normal left ventricular ejection fraction, a novel finding was the association of an impaired myocardial relaxation mitral inflow pattern (grade 1 diastolic function) with all-cause mortality, even in a subset of patients with ‘isolated grade 1 diastolic function’ who had no other clinical or echocardiographic abnormalities. In addition, those with grade 1 diastolic function were more likely to die of dementia and cardiovascular death than those with normal diastolic function. This study highlights the importance of impaired myocardial relaxation mitral inflow pattern (grade 1 diastolic function) as an important biomarker of cardiovascular and cognitive risk and not necessarily a benign finding that is normal with age.”
This issue’s original investigations incorporate a variety of topics including diastolic function and survival, SGLT2 inhibitor therapy and cardiac remodeling, LV contractile phenotypes in HFpEF, the relation between exercise echo findings to subsequent heart failure hospitalization, and cardiac elastography. Two editorial comments accompany reports in the diastolic function and survival category, while another offers insight into dapagliflozin and cardiac reverse remodeling in the continued study of SGLT2 inhibitors’ impacts across cardio-kidney-metabolic conditions. The brief research communications of this issue discuss sleep duration and subclinical LV dysfunction in older adults as well as Doppler characterization of left anterior descending coronary artery diastolic flow profiles in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Rounding out this issue are two letters to the editor regarding the left atrioventricular coupling index’s use as a marker for diastolic dysfunction and prognosis.
Guest written by Steven Lester, MD, FASE, alongside ASE staff Meredith Morovati, MBA, and Samantha King, this month’s President’s Message dives into all things innovation at ASE, including the expansion of ASE’s Industry Roundtable (IRT) and the launch of its first Accelerator Program.
A new call for papers is now open! A focus issue on chamber quantification is set for publication in 2026. Papers that address any aspect of echocardiography in quantitative assessment of the cardiac chambers should be submitted by August 1, 2025. Please direct questions to JASE managing editor Debbie Meyer at DMeyer@ASEcho.org.
Tune into our Author Spotlight page for interviews between JASE Editor-in-Chief Patricia Pellikka, MD, FASE, and authors of recently published papers. April’s interview features , discussing her report titled, “Machine Learning Identifies Clinically Distinct Phenotypes in Patients With Aortic Regurgitation.”
Please see the May ASE Education Calendar for a listing of educational opportunities far and wide.