Arterial properties as determinants of time-varying myocardial stress in humans.

Myocardial and arterial load are time-varying phenomena. Despite their importance in myocardial function, the arterial properties that determine time-resolved myocardial wall stress are unknown. We aimed to assess arterial properties as determinants of time-resolved myocardial stress among 1214 men and women enrolled in the Asklepios Study. Time-resolved central pressure, flow, and left ventricular geometry were measured with carotid tonometry, Doppler, and speckle-tracking echocardiography, respectively, for computation of arterial load and ejection-phase time-varying myocardial wall stress. For any given end-diastolic left ventricular geometry and cardiac output, peak myocardial stress correlated directly with systemic vascular resistance (standardized β=1.12; P P P P =0.0008), and earlier return of wave reflections (standardized β=−0.10; P P P 2 ; P 2 ; P −2 ; P