"Heart failure (HF) affects 14 million people in Europe, and this number is forecast to increase to 30 million by 2020. Early diagnosis of HF is essential for successfully addressing underlying causes. However, initial diagnosis is difficult in many situations so that HF is correctly diagnosed in only half of affected patients. Diastolic HF, for example, that accounts for more than 50% of all HF patients, is due to abnormal ventricular stiffness which remains very difficult to diagnose. The characterization of myocardial properties remains today a challenge and there is currently no imaging technique that can assess myocardial stiffness in clinical practice.In ULTRAECHOCARDIO, a novel ultrafast imaging approach is proposed not only to image myocardial stiffness but also myocardial electromechanical properties and blood flows with high sensitivity. Whereas conventional ultrasound scanners can achieve 100 images/s, ultrafast imaging can perform 100 times faster, up to 10,000 images/s. This ultrafast capability is a breakthrough in cardiac imaging that opens new possibilities, such as imaging tissue and blood motion with high temporal resolution, but also mechanical (shear waves) and electromechanical waves that remain undetectable with conventional techniques. New echocardiographic modalities will be developed based on a unique ultrafast imaging platform: (1) Shear Wave Imaging for quantitative evaluation of myocardial stiffness, (2) Electromechanical Wave Imaging for mapping of electrical activation in the heart and (3) Ultrafast Doppler Imaging for blood flow mapping with high sensitivity. These modalities will be validated on preclinical models with early modifications of myocardial stiffness and electrical disorders. Finally, the clinical impact will be evaluated on patients with diastolic HF, electrical disorder and coronary artery disease. This technology will provide new diagnostic information crucial for early diagnosis of HF and assessment of HF treatment."