Prognostic utility of assessing ventricular-arterial coupling in arterial hypertension and cardiovascular diseases

Abstract

The assessment of myocardial function and its coupling with the arterial system, called ventricular-arterial coupling (VAC), is of paramount importance in many clinical fields, from arterial hypertension, which is the main cause of cardiovascular diseases and death, to heart failure. VAC has been the subject of studies for several decades both from an energetic cost and the impact it can exert on cardiovascular performance. Although more attention has been paid to the relationship between the left ventricle and the left arterial circuit in compromised hemodynamic stages, VAC has aroused interest in many other aspects of study, from its application in pathologies of the right sections of the heart to its clinical impact in prevention and cardiovascular risk factors. In this review we will focus on the importance of the hemodynamic data of the VAC in various clinical contexts and its possible applications in the future as a diagnostic and prognostic parameter in the cardiac clinic.