Vortices in the LV have been considered to be formed to achieve an efficient flow stream toward the outflow. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a vortex during the ejection period using VFM. Color Doppler images were obtained to produce VFM images in 80 subjects (20 healthy, 29 with dilated cardiomyopathy, and 31 with old myocardial infarction). Then, the LV vortex duration was measured and expressed as the ratio to the ejection time ( VTRe ). This result showed that the lower the EF was, the longer the vortex remained during systole. Evaluation of vortices by VFM may noninvasively provide novel insights into the pathophysiology of impaired cardiac function from this paper.

Nobuaki Fukuda, Keiichi Itatani, Koichi Kimura, Aya Ebihara, Kazuaki Negishi, Kansei Uno, Kagami Miyaji, Masahiko Kurabayashi, Katsu Takenaka, "Prolonged vortex formation during the ejection period in the left ventricle with low ejection fraction: a study by vector flow mapping", Journal of Medical Ultrasonics, 41 (2014) 10.1007/s10396-014-0530-3.