Pre-operative exercise testing in patients suspected of arteriosclerotic heart disease: methods, risks and...

In order to estimate the value of haemodynamic parameters in assessing impaired left ventricular function the reproducibility of haemodynamic measurements were investigated at rest and during supine exercise on a bicycle ergometer in fifty-one patients suspected of arteriosclerotic heart disease by means of a Swan-Ganz pulmonary artery thermodilution catheter and a radial artery catheter. Furthermore the minimal significant (P less than 0.05) change from rest to exercise was determined. In conclusion we found that haemodynamic measurements during exercise testing estimate left ventricular function in a safe and reproducible manner. A rise in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) of only 0.9 kPa during exercise was significant, whereas changes in stroke volume index (SVI) were considered significant only when exceeding 9 ml/m2.