Michael R. Courtois, M.A.

DEPARTMENT OF Internal Medicine
Keywords: congestive heart failure, diastolic dysfunction

Approximately one-third of patients with symptomatic congestive heart failure have a normal ejection fraction and symptoms that are entirely or in large measure a result of diastolic dysfunction. Our laboratory has established a reputation for innovative contributions to the field of left ventricular diastolic function involving both human and animal models. We were among the first to detail the subtle effects of the pericardium on LV pressure measurement, to detail the importance of regional intraventricular pressure gradients on the measurement of transmitral pressures, to validate a method for the proper referencing of intracardiac pressures, and to describe in detail the complex relationship between myocardial relaxation and early diastolic filling. Our current research continues in the area of understanding the basic central and peripheral hemodynamic responses to diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Because many of the pathologic hemodynamic, functional and arrythmogenic sequelae associated with heart failure have now been linked to the process of diastolic dysfunction, we hope that our continued refinement of in vivo experimental models, in conjunction with the development of appropriate in vitro models, will provide an important source of information for the future understanding and treatment of heart failure.