1986 Volume 50 Issue 9 Pages 859-862
We studied hemodynamic response to exercise in eight patients who had undergone Rastelli operation 2 to 6 years before this study. Endurance time for the treadmill test was below the low limit of two standard deviations of our normal value in 5 out of 7 patients. On bicycle ergometer exercise test during catheterization, cardiac output increased from 3.8 ± 0.96 liter/min/m2 to 6.5 ± 1.7 liter/min/m2 when heart rate increased 81 ± 10 to 123 ± 17, the latter reaching 71% of the maximum value. Right ventricular pressure increased from 85 ± 38 mmHg to 114 ± 45 mmHg, along with elevation of the enddiastolic pressure (+5 ± 4 mmHg). Right-sided ventricular ejection fraction increased in 3 out of 6 patients, while left-sided ventricular ejection fraction increased in 4 out of 7 patients. Thus, ventricular pump function does not respond normally to physical activity in many patients after Rastelli operation.
