Effect of a Decrease in Aortic Compliance on the Isovolumic Relaxation Period of the Left Ventricle in Man

Abstract

A decrease in aortic compliance can modify the loading sequence to the left ventricular ejection in the elderly. To determine whether a decreased aortic compliance influences the left ventricular relaxation in man, 83 healthy volunteers, aged 34-87 years, were studied. The left ventricular relaxation was characterized by the isovolumic relaxation period (IRP) of the left ventricle. The aortic compliance was characterized by the aortic pulse wave velocity (AoPWV). The loading sequence to left ventricular ejection was classified into three groups by carotid pulse contour; type A, dominant tidal wave; type B, percussion wave almost equal to the tidal wave; type C, dominant percussion wave. IRP and AoPWV increased with age. The mean arterial pressure was unrelated to age. IRP was significantly related to AoPWV and mean arterial pressures. Multiple regression analysis, correlating IRP with AoPWV and mean arterial pressure, demonstrated that only AoPWV was an independent factor to explain IRP. IRP was longer in type A than in type C, and AoPWV was faster in type A than in type C volunteers. The prominent tidal wave in type A may reflect a more rapid transmission of arterial wave reflection which can result in a change of the loading sequence to the left ventricular ejection. These results reveal that a decrease in aortic compliance with aging can affect left ventricular relaxation through the change of the loading sequence in man.

Reduced Systemic Arterial Compliance Is Associated with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Diastolic Dysfunction in Older People

“…There was a positive univariate association between these two variables, with an increase in E/A ratio evident with increasing arterial compliance. Pulse wave velocity, which is a measure of arterial compliance, has previously been shown to be related to the isovolumic relaxation period of the left ventricle 22 . However, E/A was also related to a number of other variables, which were themselves related to SAC.…”

Influence of antihypertensive therapy with cilazapril and hydrochlorothiazide on the stiffness of the aorta

“…Other equivalents, such as aortic input impedance and effective arterial elastance, reflect the pulsatile components of left ventricular afterload [41][42][43]. Aortic stiffness can be assessed most easily by measurement of pulse wave velocity (Cw), with a high Cw indicating increased stiffness and vice versa [14,18,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. The pulse wave velocity mirrors the average stiffness of the aortic pathway and can provide more information than techniques measuring the aortic diameter at only one defined site [51].…”

“…Cardiovasc Drugs Ther 1996;10: [49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57] Key Words. aortic stiffness, arterial distensibility, pulse wave velocity, Windkessel function, cilazapril, hydrochlorothiazide Increased stiffness of the aorta and the large elastic arteries leads to a reduction of their buffering windkessel function and is a major component in the pathophysiology of systolic hypertension [1][2][3][4].…”

Diastolic subclinical primary alterations in marfan syndrome and marfan‐related disorders

“…26 Moreover, LV relaxation could be further altered by the loss of aortic compliance evidenced in MFS. 36 Ochi et al 37 have shown that the length of the relaxation period is inversely related to aortic compliance. Reduced left ventricle compliance can be easily attributed to alterations of connective tissue leading to an increased stiffness of the left ventricle as well as of the aortic wall.…”