The Role of Chronotropic Incompetence in Heart Failure With Normal Ejection Fraction (HFNEF)

What is heart failure with normal ejection fraction? The heart contracts (pumps) and relaxes with each heartbeat. In some people with heart failure, the heart contracts normally but there is reduced relaxation of the heart. As a result, people notice a feeling of breathlessness, ankle swelling and fatigue especially on exertion. The investigators feel that patients with reduced or impaired relaxation of the heart have less heart filling time and poor energy utilisation during exercise. Therefore, the investigators are conducting a study to more thoroughly understand the disease condition by giving a drug called ivabradine to reduce the heart rate and hence to increase the heart filling time in these patients.