Inflow characteristics of left and right ventricular filling were assessed in 40 patients with myocardial infarction and in 10 normal subjects by pulsed Doppler echocardiography. Patients with myocardial infarction were subdivided into four groups, focusing on the involvement of right ventricular and septal branches of the coronary arteries. Group I consisted of 11 patients with anterior infarction who showed an obstructive lesion of the proximal left anterior descending branch involving the first septal perforator with a patent right coronary artery. Group II consisted of 10 patients with inferior infarction who showed an obstructive lesion of the proximal right coronary artery involving the right ventricular branch. Group III consisted of 12 patients with both anterior and inferior infarction who showed obstructive lesions of both the proximal left anterior descending branch and the right coronary artery involving the right ventricular branch. Group IV consisted of seven patients with lateral infarction who showed an obstructive lesion of the diagonal branch or branches of the circumflex coronary artery with a patent left anterior descending branch and right coronary artery. Three measurements were performed from the transmitral and transtricuspidal inflow velocity patterns to assess the left and right ventricular diastolic behaviors. These measurements were: acceleration half-time, deceleration half-time of early diastolic rapid inflow, and the ratio of the peak velocity of early diastolic rapid inflow to that of the late diastolic inflow due to the atrial contraction. Impaired diastolic filling of the left ventricle compensated by enhanced left atrial contraction was observed in patients with myocardial infarction from groups I, II, III and IV.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)