D. Raeside et al., Pulmonary artery pressure measurement during exercise testing in patients with suspected pulmonary hypertension, EUR RESP J, 16(2), 2000, pp. 282-287
It is recognized that exercise produces abnormally large increases in pulmo
nary artery pressure in patients with pulmonary vascular disease as a conse
quence of a variety of disorders, but the relationship between pressure and
cardiopulmonary exercise performance is poorly understood. This lack of un
derstanding is due (in part) to difficulty making measurements of pulmonary
haemodynamics using conventional fluid filled catheters, This article seek
s to improve understanding by comparing variables measured during formal ex
ercise testing crith simultaneous measurements of pulmonary artery pressure
using a micro-manometer tipped catheter,
Ten patients with suspected pulmonary hypertension mere studied using a mic
romanometer tipped pulmonary artery catheter, during cardiopulmonary exerci
se testing. Ventilatory equivalents for oxygen and carbon dioxide correlate
d with the pulmonary artery pressure measured on exercise, but oxygen pulse
and oxygen uptake did not,
Ventilatory equivalents, noninvasively measured during exercise, may merit
further study as potential surrogates of pulmonary artery pressure and henc
e be useful in identifying individuals at risk of developing pulmonary hype
rtension.