Fig. 1

Pressure gradients, hemodynamic forces, and blood flow in a patient with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. Left: The colored field illustrates the relative pressure gradients within the left ventricle at a single point in time. Local hemodynamic forces are illustrated with white arrows, with direction and magnitude indicated for each point. Center: The global force (white arrow) is the sum of all local forces and accelerates the blood flow (red arrow) towards the aorta during early systole. Right: By late systole, the global force is directed in the opposite direction of the flow, thereby decelerating the outflowing blood