Transventricular pressure-velocity wave propagation in diastole: adherence to the Moens-Korteweg equation

In the latter half of the diastolic phase of the cardiac cycle, the left atrium contracts and generates a pressure-velocity wave which enters the left ventricle. The wave moves through the inflow tract of the ventricle, reflects off the apex and heads towards the aortic valve. The time taken for the pressure-velocity wave to propagate through the ventricle, referred to as the A-Ar interval, may be measured using pulsed Doppler echocardiography and occurs in the range 20-80 ms. It has been shown previously that there is a significant negative linear correlation between the A-Ar interval and the passive elastic modulus of the ventricular wall (r = -0.782, p < 0.001). This relationship may be explained by modelling the left ventricle as a folded-over elastic tube through which the pressure-velocity wave is propagated according to the principles of the Moens-Korteweg equation.