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Measuring the Stiffness of Ex Vivo Mouse Aortas Using Atomic Force Microscopy
Published on: October 19, 2016
Arterial stiffness and vascular load in heart failure
Henry Ooi1, William Chung, Andreia Biolo
1Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Veterans' Administration Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA. henry.ooi@vanderbilt.edu
Congestive Heart Failure (Greenwich, Conn.)
|February 8, 2008
Summary
Vascular load significantly impacts heart function, especially in heart failure. Reducing aortic stiffness is a potential future therapy for heart failure patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular physiology
- Heart failure research
- Vascular mechanics
Background:
- Vascular load critically influences ventricular function, particularly in the failing heart.
- Vascular load has two main components: resistive load and pulsatile load.
- Arterial stiffness and pulsatile load play significant pathophysiologic roles in cardiovascular disease, including heart failure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the assessment of arterial stiffness and vascular load.
- To discuss the importance of ventricular-vascular coupling for efficient cardiac ejection.
- To describe current knowledge of arterial stiffness, vascular load, and ventricular-vascular coupling in different types of heart failure.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on arterial stiffness and vascular load assessment.
- Discussion of the physiological principles of ventricular-vascular coupling.
- Synthesis of existing data on heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction.
Main Results:
- Arterial stiffness is a key determinant of pulsatile load.
- Optimal ventricular-vascular coupling maximizes cardiac ejection efficiency.
- Both systolic heart failure and heart failure with normal ejection fraction are affected by arterial stiffness and vascular load.
Conclusions:
- Assessment of pulsatile load and arterial stiffness is increasingly important in cardiovascular disease.
- Ventricular-vascular coupling is crucial for cardiac function in heart failure.
- Reducing aortic stiffness may represent a future therapeutic strategy for heart failure management.
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