Figure 1.

Exercising muscle blood flow responses. Changes in brachial artery blood flow during handgrip exercise in nonobese and obese patients with HFpEF (A). When the relationship between the overall hyperemic response across all exercise intensities was viewed across the range of BMIs (18–61 kg/m²) among patients with and without obesity, a significant negative correlation was found between the slope of exercising muscle blood flow and BMI (B, Pearson correlation coefficient = −0.456, P < 0.001, n = 50). A 2 × 3 repeated-measures ANOVA (α < 0.05) (group, two levels: nonobese vs. obese HFpEF) (workload, three levels: 15%, 30%, and 45% of MVC) were performed to compare the hemodynamic responses in control and HFpEF during exercise. *Group effect, P < 0.05. Means ± SE. HFpEF, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction; MVC, maximal voluntary contraction.