Circulation Journal Official Journal of the Japanese Circulation Society http://www. j-circ.or.jp n resting normal subjects at sealevel, alveolar PO2 and PCO2 are approximately 100 mmHg and 40 mmHg, respectively. In patients with pulmonary vascular occlusive disease, there is regional hypoperfusion relative to ventilation. This is reflected in an increased physiological dead space ventilation, due to an uneven ventilation -perfusion (V/Q) relationship, that is, high V/Q mismatch. Consequently, endtidal PCO2 (PETCO2) is reduced and end-tidal PO2 (PETO2) is increased. 1 Patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction also have high V/Q mismatch because of reduced pulmonary blood flow despite adequate ventilation. 2,3 Thus, in these patients, PETO2 must be higher and PETCO2 must be lower, according to the severity of LV dysfunction.In the present study, we hypothesized that in patients with LV dysfunction, PETO2 and PETCO2 measured during exercise may be better correlated with the severity of the cardiopulmonary dysfunction than that at rest. In order to test this hypothesis, we measured PETCO2 and PETO2 both at rest, at anaerobic threshold (AT) and at peak exercise. We then correlated these variables with indices of cardiopulmonary function during exercise, 4 in patients with LV dysfunction.
Methods
SubjectsThe subjects were 38 consecutive cardiac patients who performed exercise testing with respiratory gas analysis at the Cardiovascular Institute between January 2007 and December Background: The aim of the present study was to compare the end-tidal O2 pressure (PETO2) to end-tidal CO2 pressure (PETCO2) in cardiac patients during rest and during 2 states of exercise: at anaerobic threshold (AT) and at peak. The purpose was to see which metabolic state, PETO2 or PETCO2, best correlated with exercise limitation.
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