Beaubien-Souligny W, et al. - In this retrospective single-center cohort study, researchers investigated if an improved mortality risk prediction can be achieved by evaluating left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) by transesophageal echocardiography prior to cardiopulmonary bypass in the setting of cardiac surgery. This study included overall 760 patients, normal diastolic function was seen in 144 (18.9%) patients, grade 1 LVDD, grade 2 LVDD, and grade 3 LVDD was present in 331 (43.6%) patients, 218 (28.7%) patients, and in 67 (8.8%) patients, respectively. An increased risk of in-hospital mortality was observed in cardiac surgical patients in correlation with restrictive LVDD, in contrast to LV systolic dysfunction.