Abstract
[Purpose] Left ventricular diastolic function is one of the determinants of exercise tolerance. Limited information exists regarding the role of left ventricular function in predicting exercise capacity and the impact of age-and gender-related differences. The present study was performed to identify the determinants of exercise capacity in consecutive patients using echocardiography. [Subjects and Methods] To investigate the feasibility of the optimal prescription for exercise using echocardiographic indexes, we studied 21 consecutive patients (mean age, 65.9 ± 9.0 years). We measured the peak early diastolic velocity of transmitral flow (E) and e’ at the lateral border of the mitral annulus and calculated the E/e’ ratio. After echocardiography, we measured the exercise load (Ex Watt) using cardiopulmonary exercise tests. [Results] Among the echocardiographic indexes, the E/e’ ratio showed the highest correlation coefficient with Ex Watt. [Conclusion] The evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function using echocardiography is useful for determining the optimal prescription for exercise.
