Manipulation of Left Ventricular Loading Conditions is Necessary to Identify Diastolic Dysfunction in Swine with Repetitive Pressure Overload-Induced HFpEF.

Although reductions in LV diastolic compliance are evident after chronic RPO when loading conditions are manipulated, abnormalities in LV mechanics are not exhibited at rest even when STE is used to assess diastolic stiffness throughout a single cardiac cycle. These findings highlight the challenges associated with identification of myocardial stiffening at rest in patients with HFpEF and reinforce the importance of studying LV mechanics under variable loading conditions.