Applications of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in the Management of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Disease

J. Myers

doi:10.1055/s-2004-830515

International Journal of Sports Medicine, Table of Contents

Int J Sports Med 2005; 26: S49-S55
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-830515

Applications of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in the Management of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Disease

J. Myers¹

¹Cardiology Division Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA and Stanford University, USA

Abstract

A growing body of literature has underscored the value of ventilatory gas exchange techniques during exercise testing (commonly termed cardiopulmonary exercise testing) and their applications in the management of patients with cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. Once limited to the domain of research physiologists and pulmonary medicine, the test is now widely used in clinical practice; guidelines on exercise testing from major organizations list specific indications for the use of cardiopulmonary exercise testing. The added precision provided by this technology is useful in terms of quantifying the response to therapy, evaluating disability, assessing the mechanism of exercise intolerance, making activity recommendations to patients, and quantifying the response to training. Importantly, a significant body of data published in recent years has documented the prognostic utility of cardiopulmonary exercise testing. A cardiopulmonary exercise test can supplement other clinical and exercise test information when precision is important, when the patient's symptoms are mixed, or when it is unclear why the patient was referred for exercise testing. Information from the test can also be used to support the important recommendation that the patient engage in an exercise program.

Key words

Oxygen uptake - exercise testing - ventilation - cardiovascular disease - prognosis - anaerobic threshold

Full Text

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J. Myers

Palo Alto VA Health Care System, Cardiology Division - 111 C

3801 Miranda Avenue

Palo Alto, 94304

California · USA

Phone: + 6504935000 ext. 64661

Fax: + 65 08 52 34 73

Email: drj993@aol.com