Association between reduced arterial stiffness and preserved diastolic function of the left ventricle in middle-aged and elderly patients

The aim of this study was to investigate whether arterial stiffness plays a role in retaining normal diastolic function in a middle-aged and elderly Korean population. A total of 267 patients without documented cardiovascular disease, 50 years and older (mean age, 57.3±6.3 years; 69.8% men) were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent both transthoracic echocardiography and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity measurement on the same day. Patients with septal annular peak velocity (e') ≥8 cm/s and left atrial volume index