Age- and Gender-Related Ventricular-Vascular Stiffening

BACKGROUND: Increases in vascular (Ea), ventricular systolic (Ees), and ventricular diastolic (Ed) elastance (stiffness) may contribute to the pathogenesis of heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFnlEF). The prevalence of HFnlEF increases strikingly with age, particularly in women. We hypothesized that ventricular-vascular stiffening may occur with age and be more pronounced in women in the general community. METHODS AND RESULTS: In a cross-sectional sample of Olmsted County, Minn, residents > or =45 years old (n=2042), clinical data, Doppler echocardiography, and blood pressure (BP) measurements were obtained. Ea was calculated from stroke volume and systolic BP and indexed to body size…

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  National Institutes of Health