Age-Related Changes in Left Ventricular Vortex Formation and Flow Energetics

Analysis of the cardiac vortex has been used for a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology in heart diseases. However, physiological changes of the cardiac vortex with normal aging are incompletely defined. Vector flow mapping (VFM) is a novel echocardiographic technique based on Doppler and speckle tracking for analysis of the cardiac vortex. Transthoracic echocardiography and VFM analysis were performed in 100 healthy adults (33 men; age = 18–67 years). The intracardiac flow was assessed throughout the cardiac cycle. The size (cross-sectional area) and circulation (equivalent to the integral of normal component of vorticity) of the largest vortices in systole (S-vortex), early diastole (E-vortex), and late diastole (A-vortex) were measured. Peak energy loss (EL) was calculated from information of the velocity vector of intracardiac flow in systole and diastole. With normal aging, the circulation (p = 0.049) of the E-vortex decreased, while that of the A-vortex increased (both p < 0.001). E-vortex circulation correlated directly to e’ (p = 0.003), A-vortex circulation correlated directly to A and a’ (both p < 0.001), and S-vortex circulation correlated directly to s’ (p = 0.032). Despite changes in vortex patterns, energy loss was not significantly different in older individuals. Normal aging is associated with altered intracardiac vortex patterns throughout the cardiac cycle, with the late-diastolic A-vortex becoming physiologically more dominant. Maintained energy efficiency accompanies changes in vortex patterns in aging hearts.