Serial changes in the diastolic filling of both ventricles were studied using Doppler echocardiography in 19 patients with congestive heart failure from the acute to the convalescent stage. During the acute stage, left ventricular early filling velocity (E) was high (88 +/- 17 cm/s) and atrial filling velocity (A) was low (44 +/- 23 cm/s), whereas the right ventricular E was depressed (17 +/- 8 cm/s) and A was enhanced (40 +/- 9 cm/s). As the condition improved, left ventricular E decreased (43 +/- 11 cm/s, p < 0.01) and A increased (59 +/- 24 cm/s, p < 0.01) along with a decrease in the left ventricular and atrial dimensions. In contrast to the changes in left ventricular filling, right ventricular E increased (31 +/- 10 cm/s, p < 0.01) and A decreased (32 +/- 5 cm/s, p < 0.05). There are opposite directional changes in left and right ventricular filling with clinical improvement from the acute to the convalescent stage of congestive heart failure, which suggest that the changes are related to improvement of the hemodynamic conditions of both ventricles. The changes in the right ventricular filling pattern was likely to be related to changes in right ventricular afterload, ventricular interaction and external constraint rather than a change in right ventricular filling pressure.