Food for Thought› Diastolic dysfunction is common in patients with COPD; it is also associated with increased frequency of hospitalization forCOPD exacerbation› Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (e.g., Sildenafil [Viagra]), which are widely used as treatment for erectile dysfunction, canimprove left ventricular function and exercise tolerance in patients with diastolic HF› Pre-clinical diastolic dysfunction, which is defined as left ventricular diastolic dysfunction without symptoms of HF orevidence of systolic dysfunction (i.e., stage B of HF according to the AHA classification), precedes the development ofclinical manifestations of HF in patients with DM or CAD› In a retrospective study of 165 participants with HFpEF, researchers reported that a lower body mass index (BMI) correlatedwith a lower risk of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction