Is relaxation really impaired in cardiac failure?

Impaired relaxation of the ventricle has been described in hypertrophy and in ischemic heart disease. Some of these abnormalities are transient, but all occur at an early stage of the disease. The underlying mechanisms may vary depending on the etiology of the disease, and, except for ischemic heart disease, true myocardial impaired relaxation, as manifested by a suppressed load dependence, could not be demonstrated even at a stage when manifest cardiac failure is already present.