Aortic Stiffness Across The Heart Failure Continuum

• Author / Creator

  Meena, Neha

• Aim: The purpose of this thesis was to examine aortic stiffness across the heart failure (HF) continuum. Background: Aortic distensibility (AD) decreases with advancing age. In the presence of underlying cardiovascular disease, AD is reduced beyond what which occurs with normal aging. Currently, no study has examined AD in individuals at risk for or with HF. Methods: 149 subjects were assigned into four different groups: healthy controls (n=37, mean±SD, age: 62±10 ys), at risk of developing HF (n=46, age: 62±11 ys), HFpEF (n=32, age: 69±11 ys), and HFrEF (n=34, age: 65±9 ys). Ascending and descending AD and ventricular vascular coupling (AV) were measured using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI). Results: Descending AD was significantly lower in the at-risk group compared to HFrEF group. No significant difference was found for ascending AD. In addition, HFrEF individuals had significantly impaired ventricular-arterial coupling compared to all other groups. Conclusion: HFpEF individuals have more marked impairment of arterial compliance, as evidenced by significantly decreased AD compared with controls, with respect to aging. HFrEF individuals had significantly impaired ventricular-arterial coupling, due to impaired systolic function. These findings are clinically important in assessing HF patients and monitoring their arterial stiffness progression. In addition, these findings are important for target therapies that can be beneficial for reversing arterial stiffness in these individuals to improve the outcomes.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Aortic stiffness
  • Aortic stiffness in heart failure patients
  • Aortic distensibility

• Graduation date

  Spring 2015

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R37W67D7X

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.