Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Pulsed Wave Doppler Assessment of Diastolic Dysfunction in the ZSF-1 Rat Model of Pulmonary Hypertension Due to Left Heart Disease
Published on: May 22, 2026
Diastole
1University of Central Florida/HCA Healthcare Graduate Medical Education Consortium, Gainesville, Florida.
Abstract:
Description Diastole is the space between heartbeats. It is in this space that the heart actively rests, refills. These periods of relaxation are what allow the next heartbeat to occur. A heart without diastole is in heart failure. In medical training, we are raised on the myth that constant effort equals devotion, that rest is a luxury. A sense of guilt riddles me when I take a sick day, or when I feel I am not doing enough, fast enough. This work is a meditation on the nature of rhythm, and the rhythm of nature. These quiet spaces are not signs of weakness, but rather deliberate, and vital. In this piece I visualize this feeling of stillness. An exhalation. It is a reminder to myself to listen to the wisdom of the heart. And it is permission, unapologetically, to rest, refill, continue.
Related Concept Videos
Cardiac Cycle
During the cardiac cycle, blood flow through the heart is regulated entirely by changing pressure gradients. This sequence of events begins with the heart in a state of total relaxation, known as mid-to-late diastole, during which blood passively flows from...
The Cardiac Cycle
The Process
Electrical signals—sent from the sinoatrial (SA) node in the right atrial wall to the atrioventricular (AV) node between the right atrium and right ventricle—cause both atria to simultaneously contract. When the signal reaches the AV node, it pauses for approximately a tenth of a second, allowing the atria to contract and empty blood into the...
Physiology of the Heart: The Cardiac Cycle
Diastole: The Relaxation Phase
During diastole, all four heart chambers relax. The atrioventricular (AV) valves open, and the semilunar valves close. This phase sees the lowest chamber pressures, promoting ventricular filling. Venous blood enters the heart through the...
Correlation between ECG and Cardiac Cycle
A cardiac action potential originates in the SA node and spreads throughout the atria and the AV node in approximately 0.03 seconds. This results in the P wave in an ECG and triggers atrial contraction. The action potential is then briefly slowed at the AV node, allowing the atria to contract and fill the ventricles with blood before...
Korotkoff Sounds
During blood pressure assessment, inflating the cuff 30 millimeters of mercury above the patient's systolic blood pressure...
Measurement of Blood Pressure
