Efficiency of left ventricular diastolic function increases in healthy full-term infants during the first months of life: A prospective follow-up study

Postnatal changes in left ventricular diastolic filling and systolic cardiac performance were studied monthly by serial echocardiographic measurements from days 3–5 up to six months in 20 healthy full-term infants. The fractional shortening area (FSA=(left ventricular end-diastolic area−end-systolic area)/end-diastolic area) was assessed for systolic performance, and transmitral pulsed-wave Doppler flow velocity patterns were analysed for diastolic function. FSA remained stationary during the observation. After birth, left ventricular peak early ( E) and atrial ( A) velocities and the respective integrals were lower than at one month of age (47±5 vs. 63±6 cm/s and 44±6 vs. 57±5 cm/s and 3.33±0.40 vs. 4.05±0.53 cm and 2.74±0.40 vs. 3.18±0.53 cm; P