Since E/e’ is regarded as a surrogate marker of left ventricular (LV) filling pressure, particularly in patients with HFpEF, E/e’ was used as an index of diastolic function in this study. Additional exploratory analyses, including changes in chamber dimensions and LV EF, were measured according to the recommendations of the American Society of Echocardiography.10 LV mass was calculated according to the Devereux formula and expressed as a ratio to body surface area (left ventricular mass index (LVMI)). Relative wall thickness was calculated as (2×PWTd)/LVDd, where PWTd is the end-diastolic posterior wall thickness and LVDd is the end-diastolic LV dimension. All measurements were made by experienced physicians who were blinded to patients' clinical data and outcomes.