Imaging the motion of the heart with echocardiography: Advanced technology provides deeper insights into physiology and diastolic function

Innovation in echocardiographic imaging, such as pulsed-wave, Doppler tissue, color m-mode, speckle tracking, strain, strain-rate and live three dimensional (Live 3D), has increased the understanding of how the heart fills, and has improved diagnosis and treatment of diastolic dysfunction. However, cardiologists do not yet fully utilize the richness of information that current technology provides. Cardiologists utilize the physical laws that govern the motion of tissue and blood to elucidate novel physiology and determine its clinical relevance. Seeking physical and physiological causal explanations for echocardiographic observations has generated new insights, and has advanced the frontiers of cardiovascular physiology and clinical cardiology.