Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) is a useful clinical tool for evaluating the severity of disease and the limitations of activities of daily life in cardiac patients. 9 As described by the Fick's equation, O2 uptake (V O2) is the product of cardiac output and the arteriovenous O2 difference. Among the parameters obtained from CPX, the peak V O2 is traditionally considered as the gold standard for identifying patients with a poor prognosis and selecting candidates for cardiac transplantation. 10 The slope of the increase in ventilation (V E) to the increase in CO2 output (V CO2) (V E-V CO2 slope) is also an established index reflecting cardiopulmonary dysfunction during exercise. 9 scillatory breathing, alternating between hyperpnea and hypopnea during sleep and commonly referred to as central sleep apnea or Cheyne-Stokes respiration, has long been recognized in cardiac patients. An instability of the ventilatory control system, 1 long circulation time, 2-4 high sensitivity of ventilation to changes in CO2, 5 a decrease in the PaCO2 regulatory set point, 5,6 or fluctuations in the pulmonary blood flow 7,8 have been proposed as possible mechanisms underlying this abnormal breathing. A similar breathing pattern has also been recognized during waking hours in cardiac patients, especially those with heart failure. The mechanisms underlying oscillatory breathing while awake are assumed to overlap, at least in part, with those of central sleep apnea. However, reports on the mechanisms of oscillatory breathing while awake are limited. The relation between the magnitude of oscillatory breathing while awake and the severity of heart failure has not
Relation Between Oscillatory Breathing and Cardiopulmonary Function During Exercise in Cardiac PatientsJo Kato, MD; Akira Koike, MD; Masayo Hoshimoto-Iwamoto, PhD; Osamu Nagayama, BSc; Koji Sakurada; Akira Sato, MD; Takeshi Yamashita, MD; Karlman Wasserman, MD, PhD; Kazutaka Aonuma, MD Background: Oscillatory breathing, alternating between hyperpnea and hypopnea, has been recognized in cardiac patients, especially in those with heart failure. We evaluated whether the cycle length and amplitude of oscillatory breathing correlate with impaired cardiopulmonary function during exercise.