Understanding Diastolic Heart Failure

This paper analyzes the concepts of systolic function, diastolic function, heart failure, diastolic dysfunction, and diastolic heart failure. Reference is made to the historical evolution of the concept of heart failure and the origin of the term diastolic heart failure. In light of current knowledge of the physiology of the heart and its pathophysiology, the inappropriate terms for heart failure with preserved systolic function (is there heart failure? or is ventricular function normal?). The clinical picture of pulmonary and systemic venous congestion in patients with obliteration of the cardiac chambers by endocardial thrombi or cardiac tamponade and finally pulmonary edema, caused by tight mitral stenosis, are they in diastolic heart failure? or do they have heart failure with preserved systolic function? This confusion has originated in clinical practice, since numerous research papers have called it "diastolic heart failure". It is concluded that there is a growing and increasingly urgent need to clearly identify the concepts of heart failure, diastolic dysfunction or diastolic heart failure. This paper attempts to conceptualize the aforementioned concepts by analyzing the pathology, pathophysiology, clinical picture, prognosis, and treatment in an attempt to conceptualize the clinical picture of the entities that can lead to heart failure as opposed to the diastolic dysfunction and diastolic heart failure.