An ultrasound system and method are described for assessing cardiac performance which is particularly useful for diagnosing heart remodeling. A 3D data set of a surface of the heart is acquired and the principal curvatures determined at one or more points of the surface. A curvature metric is produced which is the difference of the two principal curvatures at each point. Metrics produced from the heart surface acquired at systole have been found to correlate strongly with ejection fraction.
