Key result
Multiple sclerosis shows no difference in ventricular-vascular coupling vs controls at rest or exercise.
Why the study?
Multiple sclerosis may impair ventricular-vascular coupling, but whether it differs between individuals with and without multiple sclerosis of similar age-predicted fitness was unknown.
Does multiple sclerosis impair ventricular-vascular coupling at rest and after maximal exercise in adults?
Cross-Sectional (n=38)
No
Does multiple sclerosis impair ventricular-vascular coupling at rest and after maximal exercise in adults?
p-value: p=0.41
Individuals with MS maintain normal ventricular-vascular coupling at rest and post-exercise, but achieve this through higher arterial and ventricular elastances, suggesting increased cardiovascular workload.
Preserved coupling in MS should not yet change practice; leaves open whether higher elastances confer long-term risk.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) may impair ventricular‐vascular coupling (VVC), a measure of the interaction between the cardiac and vascular systems. We evaluated if VVC differed between individuals with and without MS with similar age‐predicted fitness. Individuals with MS ( n = 20) and without (CON, n = 18) underwent VVC measurement before and immediately after a maximal incremental cycle test with peak oxygen consumption (VO 2 peak) measurement. VVC was quantified as the ratio of arterial elastance (E A : end‐systolic pressure (ESP)/stroke volume) to ventricular elastance (E LV : ESP/end‐systolic volume). ESP was assessed with radial applanation tonometry, and cardiac volumes were obtained from apical four‐chamber echocardiography. Sex, BMI and VO 2 peak were not different between groups. Individuals with MS were older, had higher E A ( p < 0.01) and E LV ( p = 0.02), but VVC did not differ between groups. After adjustment for age, the group differences in E A and E LV remained significant. VVC was similar between individuals with and without MS, before and immediately after maximal exercise. However, individuals with MS had higher E A and E LV , suggesting higher arterial and ventricular loads. Our data suggest that individuals with MS with similar fitness to controls exhibit higher E A and E LV with preserved coupling.
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Hibner et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Multiple sclerosis (n=38). Multiple sclerosis vs. Healthy controls without MS was evaluated on Ventricular-vascular coupling (VVC) (p=0.41). Ventricular-vascular coupling did not differ between individuals with and without multiple sclerosis at rest or immediately after maximal exercise, although those with MS exhibited higher arterial and ventricular elastances.
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