Rising arterial stiffness with accumulating comorbidities associates with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

This study adds further support to the concept of HFpEF as a disease of the vasculature, underlined by an increasing arterial stiffness that is driven by vascular ageing and accumulating vascular comorbidities, for example, hypertension and diabetes. Reflecting a pulsatile arterial afterload associated with diastolic dysfunction and exercise capacity, PWV may provide a clinically relevant tool to identify at-risk intermediate phenotypes (e.g. pre-HFpEF) before overt HFpEF occurs.