Diastolic dysfunction for nephrologists: diagnosis at the point of care

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are important causes of morbidity and mortality in the course of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Diastolic dysfunction (DD) may progress with the clinical manifestation of heart failure, known as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, a condition that precedes systolic dysfunction. The early identification of DD by echocardiography at the point-of-care before the appearance of symptoms and signs of pulmonary congestion and the implementation of appropriate treatment can improve the prognosis of CKD. This review article briefly addresses DD in kidney disease and presents a practical approach to the echocardiographic diagnosis of DD at the point of care.