Myocardial Performance at Rest and During Exercise in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

Myocardial Performance at Rest and During Exercise in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: Speckle Tracking Echocardiography - One Piece of the Puzzle.

This study is being done to study how well the heart contracts and relaxes during exercise. In addition to traditional measures of heart function, we will use a new computer program that may improve understanding of why people feel shortness of breath or fatigue.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is not well understood, although account for nearly half of all heart failure cases. This study aims to collect data about systolic (contracting portion of a heart beat) and diastolic (relaxing portion of a heart beat) dysfunction at rest and during exercise. Participants with normal cardiac function will serve as a control group and compared to participants who are at risk of heart failure.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years of age or older,
• able to exercise on a bicycle

Exclusion Criteria:

• heart arrhythmias,
• severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
• congenital heart abnormalities,
• infiltrative or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.