Aortic stiffness is related to left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in heart failure with normal ejection fraction as measured by MRI

INTODUCTION Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the western world and is the leading cause of hospitalization in older patients (1). However, over one third of patients with decompensated heart failure have normal left ventricular (LV) systolic function (heart failure with normal ejection fraction (HFNEF)). This condition occurs when LV filling and relaxation are impaired during the diastolic phase of the cardiac cycle. It has been shown that aortic stiffening closely correlates with exercise intolerance in older patients with HFNEF (2). However, the relationship between aortic compliance and diastolic LV dysfunction has not yet been demonstrated. In this work, patients with HFNEF are imaged with MRI to measure the degree of aortic stiffness and diastolic dysfunction. The relationship between the resulting measurements is studied and compared to normal volunteers.