2022 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 43-47
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is a clinical testing that allows for the analysis of gas exchange during exercise. Maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max), a comprehensive index of cardiac, respiratory, and skeletal muscular functions, is one of the important measurements obtained in CPET. Anaerobic threshold, the exercise intensity at which lactate starts to accumulate in the blood, is widely used, as it represents an exercise level that is not too strenuous, but not too mild. The minute ventilation/carbon dioxide output relationship (V̇E/V̇CO2 slope) is often used as a prognostic marker of cardiac failure. The oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) is a submaximal index of cardiorespiratory functional reserve, and correlates strongly with V̇O2max. This marker is utilized as a prognostic tool for various heart diseases including congenital heart defects.
