Poorly Relaxed Heart Can’t Exercise Well

People whose hearts don’t relax normally between beats may be less able to exercise, a study finds. The study included nearly 2,900 people. They all were given an echocardiogram during exercise. This test uses ultrasound to show how well the heart works. Researchers focused on the heart’s left ventricle. They looked at whether it was able to relax and expand normally. This is called diastolic function. People with poor diastolic function in the left ventricle were less able to exercise. HealthDay News wrote about the study. It appeared January 21 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.