Exercise intolerance in HFpEF: arterial stiffness and abnormal left ventricular hemodynamic responses during exercise

Arterial stiffness and load are accentuated with exercise in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction compared with hypertensive participants and correlate with left ventricular hemodynamic responses to upright incremental exercise. Patients with heart failure exercised on a stationary bicycle while we measured their heart and lung function and their blood pressure. Compared with patients with high blood pressure, patients with heart failure had stiffer blood vessels. Stiffer blood vessels may be related to the shortness of breath and difficulty exercising experienced by patients with heart failure.