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T Reybrouck

Publications and source records attributed to T Reybrouck.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Oxygen uptake efficiency slope in coronary artery disease: clinical use and response to training.

The Oxygen Uptake Efficiency Slope (OUES), a new parameter derived from respiratory gas analysis, has been suggested as a submaximal index of cardiopulmonary functional reserve. We evaluated the clinical application and the effect of physical training on the OUES in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Maximal cycle-ergometer testing with respiratory gas analysis (breath-by-breath) was performed in 590 patients with CAD and again after three months of physical training in 425 patients. OUES was determined from the linear relation of oxygen uptake (V.O (2)) vs. the logarithm of pulmonary ventilation (V (E)) during exercise, i.e. V.O (2) = a log (10) V (E) + b, where a is the OUES. The ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT) and the slope of the relation of V (E) nu carbon dioxide production (V.CO (2)) (V (E)-V.CO (2) slope) were also determined. Correlation coefficients of the relation from which OUES was derived in individuals averaged 0.975 +/- 0.024 (mean +/- SD) when calculated from data up to a respiratory gas exchange ratio of 1.0. Submaximal OUES was marginally lower (5.4 +/- 7.9 %, p < 0.05) than the OUES calculated from 100 % of respiratory exercise data. Of all submaximal parameters, submaximal OUES (r = 0.837, p < 0.001) and VAT (r = 0.860, p < 0.001) correlated best with peak V.O (2), followed by V (E)-V.CO (2) slope (r = - 0.469, p < 0.001). OUES was lower in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting as compared with patients after coronary angioplasty (p < 0.05). Peak V.O (2) and OUES increased significantly (p < 0.001) after training with 24 +/- 19.2 % and 20.9 +/- 19.3 %, respectively. Changes in peak V.O (2) correlated better with changes in OUES and in VAT (r = 0.61 and r = 0.55, p < 0.001, respectively) than with changes in V (E)-V.CO (2) slope (r = - 0.171, p < 0.001). The submaximal OUES is clinically useful for the quantification of exercise performance and is sensitive to physical training in patients with CAD.

Coronary Artery Disease↗

Long-term assessment and serial evaluation of cardiorespiratory exercise performance and cardiac function in patients with atrial switch operation for complete transposition.

BACKGROUND: At present, a considerable number of patients survive who underwent an atrial switch operation for correction of complete transposition. Our study aimed to assess their long-term exercise performance and the serial evolution of cardiac function. METHODS: We studied 22 patients 5 to 17 years after an atrial switch operation, and followed them serially for 3.5 +/- 2 years after the first evaluation. Cardiorespiratory exercise function was assessed by analysis of gas exhange and by determination of the ventilatory anaerobic threshold. Echocardiography was performed on all evaluations. RESULTS: All patients were in Class I of the classification of the New York Heart Association at all assessments. Ventilatory anaerobic threshold, however, was significantly lower than normal. It averaged 77.9% +/- 13.7 of the normal mean value at the initial evaluation, and remained stable when re-evaluated later (76.2 +/- 13.7%). At the initial study, the increase in oxygen uptake during graded exercise was below the 95% confidence limit in 6 of the patients, and was below this level in 10 patients at re-assessment. The subnormal values for oxygen uptake during submaximal exercise were associated with moderate to severe haemodynamic dysfunction. At echocardiography, 15 of 17 patients studied twice had mild to moderate right ventricular dilation and tricuspidregurgiation, which remained virtually the same at reasssesment. A stable sinus rhythm was initially present in 17 patients, and persisted in 15 patients during follow-up. CONCLUSION: At medium term follow-up, cardiorespiratory exercise performance remains stable in patients after atrial switch repair. Serial exercise testing appears useful, because in individual patients in the present study, a decreasing exercise tolerance correlated with development of haemodynamic sequels.

Adolescent↗

Cardiorespiratory exercise function after the arterial switch operation for transposition of the great arteries.

AIMS: This study compares the functional outcome and cardiorespiratory response to exercise, in patients who have undergone arterial switch for transposition of the great arteries, with normal controls and patients who have undergone atrial switch operation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifteen patients who had undergone arterial switch (mean age 8.5+/-2.9 years) were compared to 32 patients who had undergone atrial switch (9.2+/-1.8 years) and 27 normal controls (8.5+/-2.1 years). Exercise testing was performed on a treadmill and gas exchange measured breath-by-breath. Aerobic capacity, assessed by determination of the ventilatory anaerobic threshold, averaged 91+/-7.8% of normal (95% confidence limits: 92-108%) for arterial switch and 75.1+/-13.1% for atrial switch (P<0.001 patients vs normals). Aerobic exercise function was evaluated by calculation of the slope of oxygen uptake vs exercise intensity. The mean value for this slope was 2.0+/-0.25 for arterial switch, 2.5+/-0.46 for normals and 1.7+/-0.80 for atrial switch (P<0.05; patients vs normals). Efficiency of the pulmonary gas exchange was assessed by calculation of the slope of ventilation vs carbon dioxide output during exercise. This averaged 38.7+/-14.7 for arterial switch, 48.1+/-14.1 for atrial switch and 30.3+/-7.6 for normals (P<0.001; patients vs normals). CONCLUSION: Cardiorespiratory exercise function is at, or slightly below, the lower limit of normal in patients with arterial switch, while the lowest values were observed for those who had undergone atrial switch.

Child↗

Homograft insertion for pulmonary regurgitation after repair of tetralogy of fallot improves cardiorespiratory exercise performance.

Surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) with reconstruction of the right ventricular (RV) outflow tract invariably results in pulmonary regurgitation. Chronic pulmonary regurgitation has been associated with RV dysfunction and decreased exercise performance. The present study assessed the influence of pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) for severe pulmonary regurgitation after previous TOF repair on cardiorespiratory exercise performance and RV function. Eighteen patients, between the ages of 8 and 18 years, underwent an exercise test and a cardiac magnetic resonance imaging scan at least 1 year after PVR. The exercise data were compared with those obtained from 24 age-matched normal controls and 27 age-matched patients with repaired TOF and a moderate degree of pulmonary regurgitation. A subgroup of 11 patients had an exercise test performed before and after PVR. Cardiopulmonary exercise performance was evaluated by determination of the ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT) and by the steepness of the slope of oxygen uptake versus exercise intensity (SVO2). After PVR there was a significant increase in VAT (86+/-11% before to 106.9+/-14% after, p = 0.03) and in SVO2 (1.71+/-0.47 to 2.3+/-0.39, p = 0.004). In patients examined after PVR, the VAT and SVO2 values were not significantly different from the values in the normal controls (104+/-15% [p>0.05] and 2.03+/-0.77 after PVR vs. 2.42+/-0.68 [p>0.25], respectively). In contrast, patients with repaired TOF and a moderate degree of pulmonary regurgitation had a significantly lower VAT (86+/-11%, p<0.05) and SVO2 (1.8+/-0.74 vs. 2.42+/-0.68, p<0.05) than normal controls. Magnetic resonance imaging studies revealed residual RV dilatation and dysfunction. However, there was no correlation between RV dilatation and RV dysfunction and aerobic exercise capacity. It is concluded that aerobic exercise capacity substantially improves after PVR for severe pulmonary regurgitation after previous TOF repair. Although the right ventricle remains significantly dilated and hypocontractile, there is no relation between RV function and exercise performance.

Adolescent↗

Comparison of cardiac output measured by two automated methods of CO2 rebreathing.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the reproducibility of the exponential method of CO2 rebreathing with the use of automated curve fitting and to determine whether this method is superior to the equilibrium method in terms of reproducibility and clinical practicability. METHODS: Repeated measurements of cardiac output were performed using the automated equilibrium and exponential methods. These measurements were compared in 12 healthy male subjects at rest and during incremental exercise tests. RESULTS: Estimated cardiac output was not significantly different between duplicate measurements at rest nor at any level of exercise with either method. At rest the exponential method showed a tendency toward larger variability than the equilibrium method. The exponential method produced significantly higher (P < or = 0.001) estimates at rest (averaging up to 9.8 L x min(-1)) compared with the equilibrium method (averaging up to 6.5 L x min(-1)). Reproducibility improved for both methods with increasing workloads, and a second measurement at rest also seemed more reproducible and valid than the first. During exercise, both methods produced comparable values for cardiac output, and highly significant relations between cardiac output and oxygen uptake were observed for both methods (ranging from r2 = 0.79 to r2 = 0.88, P < or = 0.001). The equilibrium method produced unpleasant side effects more frequently (75% vs 21%, P < or = 0.001) compared with the exponential method and lead more subjects to premature interruption of the exercise test because of the rebreathing maneuver (42% vs 17%, P = 0.058). CONCLUSIONS: Automated curve fitting for the exponential method gave reproducible and valid results during submaximal and maximal exercise but not at rest. The equilibrium method on the other hand interfered with exercise. Therefore, the equilibrium method is recommended at rest and at lower levels of exercise and the exponential method at higher intensities.

Adolescent↗

Tilt training: a treatment for malignant and recurrent neurocardiogenic syncope.

The treatment of neurocardiogenic syncope is insufficient in many cases. We hypothesized that the repeated exposure of the cardiovascular system to orthostatic stress could have a therapeutic effect on the regulation of cardiovascular reflex mechanisms. We have started a program of tilt training for heavily symptomatic patients. After hospital admission, patients were tilted daily (60-degree inclination), until syncope, or until a maximum of 45-90 minutes. The patients were instructed to continue a program of daily tilt training at home: two 30-minute sessions of upright standing against a vertical wall. No medication was prescribed. A total of 260 tilt table sessions were performed in 42 patients. The first tilt test was positive after 21 +/- 13 minutes. The syncope was cardioinhibitory in 14 cases, vasodepressor in 19, mixed in 9. At the time of hospital discharge, 41 patients could support 45 minutes of head-up tilting. After a mean follow-up time of 15.1 (SD 7.8) months, 36 patients remained completely free of syncope. Syncope still occurred in one patient and presyncope in four patients. One patient died from an extensive myocardial infarction. The abnormal autonomic reflex activity of neurocardiogenic syncope can be remedied by a program of continued tilt training without the administration of drugs. This new treatment has proven to be effective for the vasodepressor and the cardioinhibitory type of syncope.

Adolescent↗

Oxygen uptake versus exercise intensity: a new concept in assessing cardiovascular exercise function in patients with congenital heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relation between exercise intensity and oxygen uptake during graded exercise in paediatric patients who underwent surgical repair of congenital heart disease, and to compare it with conventional measures of aerobic exercise function. DESIGN: Cross sectional study. Exercise testing was performed on a treadmill and gas exchange was measured on a breath by breath basis. PATIENTS: 29 patients who underwent an atrial switch operation for transposition of the great arteries (TGA) (mean (SD) age at testing 10.3 (2.5) years) and 30 patients who underwent total repair of tetralogy of Fallot (TF) (age 12.1 (3.3) years) performed graded exercise testing. Exercise responses were compared with data obtained in 24 normal controls (age 11.4 (2.6) years). RESULTS: The slope of oxygen uptake versus exercise intensity averaged 1.50 (0. 64) ml O(2)/min(2)/kg in the patients with TGA and 1.68 (0.75) ml O(2)/min(2)/kg after TF repair, both lower (p < 0.005) than in normal controls (2.42 (0.68) ml O(2)/min(2)/kg). The lower slope of oxygen uptake was correlated with a subnormal value for ventilatory anaerobic threshold, which averaged 78.0 (13.3)% of normal in TGA and 85.1 (10.6)% in TF. This was associated with a steeper slope (p = 0.001) of carbon dioxide output versus oxygen uptake above the ventilatory anaerobic threshold in TGA (1.26 (0.20)) and TF (1.20 (0. 18)) compared with the normal controls (1.05 (0.13)), and also a steeper slope of ventilation versus carbon dioxide in TGA (47.0 (15. 4)) and TF (41.5 (13.7)) than in the controls (30.3 (8.5)). CONCLUSIONS: Calculation of the steepness of the slope of oxygen uptake versus exercise intensity is a valid measurement of oxygen flow to the exercising tissues, which may be limited in congenital heart disease.

Adolescent↗

Gender differences in the oxygen transport system during maximal exercise in hypertensive subjects.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To analyze gender differences in the oxygen transport system at peak exercise with particular emphasis on the difference in systemic arteriovenous oxygen extraction and in mixed venous oxygen saturation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Cardiopulmonary graded exercise testing and hemodynamic assessment were performed on a cycle ergometer in 64 hypertensive patients (32 female and 32 male) varying in age from 23 to 64 years. Female and male patients were matched for age and BP. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Peak oxygen uptake was significantly lower in women than in men, and when expressed in absolute units (L/min: -39%) and when normalized for body mass (mL/min/kg: -33%) or statistically adjusted for height and weight (-29%). This resulted essentially from a significantly lower cardiac output in women, both when expressed in absolute units and when adjusted for body size. At the peripheral level, female patients had a lower arteriovenous oxygen content difference at peak exercise, which resulted from a lower hemoglobin concentration and the inability to decrease mixed venous oxygen saturation to the same level as in men. CONCLUSION: The lower peak oxygen uptake of women results from both central and peripheral factors. The significantly higher value for mixed venous oxygen saturation, which contributes to the lower arteriovenous oxygen difference of women, could result from their smaller muscle mass, lower capillary density, and lower oxidative potential.

Adult↗

Ventilatory inefficiency for carbon dioxide during exercise in patients with pulmonary hypertension.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the ventilatory efficiency for carbon dioxide (CO2) in the assessment of exercise tolerance in patients with pulmonary hypertension. Two groups of patients were studied. One group consisted of 37 patients with normal pulmonary artery pressure who underwent surgical closure of a left-to-right shunt. Another group was composed of 10 patients with pulmonary hypertension. Both patient groups were compared with the mean value of an age-matched pool of normal control subjects. Aerobic exercise performance was assessed by determination of the ventilatory threshold. The ventilatory efficiency for CO2 was assessed by calculating the slope of ventilation over carbon dioxide below the ventilatory threshold. The slope of ventilation vs. carbon dioxide output in patients with pulmonary hypertension (48 +/- 12) was steeper than the slope (31.3 +/- 7.0) in patients with normal pulmonary artery pressure (P < 0.05). Significant correlations (P < 0.05) were found between the pulmonary artery pressure and the slope of pulmonary ventilation over carbon dioxide (r = 0.92) and also with the physiological dead space-tidal volume ratio at maximal exercise (r = 0.55). This was associated with a severe reduction in exercise performance in patients with pulmonary hypertension, whereas in patients with normal pulmonary artery pressure it was only slightly below the lower limit of normal. These results demonstrate that patients with pulmonary hypertension have an inefficient ventilatory response to metabolically produced CO2 during exercise, which severely limits exercise tolerance.

Adolescent↗

Tilt training: a new treatment for recurrent neurocardiogenic syncope and severe orthostatic intolerance.

Medical treatment of neurocardiogenic syncope is insufficient in many cases. We have observed a therapeutic effect of repeated head-up tilt testing. Therefore, we have started a program of tilt training for heavily symptomatic patients. After hospital admission, they were tilted daily (60 degrees inclination) until syncope, or until a duration of 45-90 minutes (90 sessions in 13 patients). The mean tilt tolerance, at the first diagnostic head-up tilt table test, was 22.3 minutes (st. dev. 10.9). Before hospital discharge, 12/13 patients could sustain the full duration of tilt table testing without any symptom. In one patient syncope persisted. The patients were instructed to continue a program of daily tilt training at home, by standing against a wall for 30 minutes, one or two times per day. This resulted in a complete disappearance of syncope in all 13 patients. Orthostatic intolerance and the excessive autonomic reflex activity of neurocardiogenic syncope can be remedied by a program of continued tilt training, without the administration of drugs.

Adult↗

Assessment of cardiorespiratory exercise function in obese children and adolescents by body mass-independent parameters.

The parameters used to assess aerobic exercise function by gas exchange are usually adjusted for body mass and are expressed as millilitres per minute per kilogram. In the case of obese children this could lead to overcorrection with an underestimation of their exercise capacity. The purpose of the present study was to assess cardiorespiratory exercise function in obese subjects using body mass-independent parameters. As both carbon dioxide output (VCO2) and oxygen uptake (VO2) are usually corrected for body mass, the slope of VCO2 versus VO2 can be considered to be independent of body mass. This slope was calculated below the ventilatory threshold (S1) and above the ventilatory threshold (S3). Exercise tests were performed on a treadmill and respiratory gas exchange was measured breath-by-breath. A group of 29 obese children [mean age 11 (SD 2.5) years] were compared to 16 normal controls of the same age range [mean age 10.8 (SD 2.2); P > 0.05]. The patients were overweight by 36 (SD 17.9)% and had a body mass index of 25.0 (SD 3.8). The results showed that S3 in the obese subjects was significantly steeper compared to the normal controls [1.30 (SD 0.20) vs 1.10 (SD 0.20); P < 0.05]. The steepest values for S3 were found in the subjects with the highest degree of obesity. This method has some limitations, since in a large proportion of the patients (48%) no ventilatory threshold could be detected, which is prerequisite for calculation of these slopes. The latter was already suppressed at the onset of exercise in 21% of the sample or could not be detected because of breathing irregularity in 27%. It is suggested from this study that cardiorespiratory exercise function in obese children is reduced, especially when assessed by parameters of aerobic exercise which cancel the confounding effect of body mass.

Adolescent↗

Prognostic significance of peak oxygen uptake in hypertension.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of cardiopulmonary fitness in hypertension. From 1972 to 1982 oxygen uptake and heart rate were recorded during an exercise test to exhaustion in 216 patients (143 men). Their outcome was ascertained in 1994. During 3,411 patient years of follow-up, 53 patients suffered at least one fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular event and 25 patients died. After adjustment for age, gender, and weight, the relative hazard rates (RHR; Cox regression) of peak oxygen uptake (l.min-1) amounted to 0.44 (P = 0.01) for the first occurring cardiovascular events and 0.35 (P = 0.05) for all-cause mortality. These RHR remained significant after additional adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors (RHR = 0.45 and 0.28, respectively; P < 0.05). Heart rate at 50 W did not predict outcome after adjustment for age and gender (P = 0.94 and 0.14, respectively), nor after additional adjustment for heart rate at rest (P = 0.86 and 0.61, respectively). In conclusion, a lower peak oxygen uptake, but not a higher submaximal heart rate, is significantly and independently associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular events and a higher total mortality in hypertensive patients.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗

Dynamics of respiratory gas exchange during exercise after correction of congenital heart disease.

In pediatric exercise testing, conventional measures of aerobic exercise function such as maximal O2 uptake or the ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT) use only one value for the assessment of exercise capacity. We studied a more comprehensive approach to evaluate aerobic exercise function by analyzing the steepness of the slope of CO2 production (VCO2) vs. VO2 above the VAT (S3). This was calculated in 32 patients operated on for congenital heart disease [16 for transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and 16 for tetralogy of Fallot (TF)] and was compared with 16 age-matched controls (nl). The results show that the reproducibility of this new assessment method was excellent (coefficient of variation for S3: 8.6%). S3 was significantly steeper (P<0.05) in the patients (1.31 +/- 0.22 for TGA and 1.28 +/- 0.16 for TF) compared with the nl (1.10 +/- 0.22). Also, the difference between S3 and the slope of VCO2 vs. VO2 below the VAT was significantly higher in the patients (0.37 +/- 0.22 for TGA and 0.31 +/- 0.10 for TF) than in controls (0.22 +/- 0.06). The steeper slopes were associated with lower than normal values for VAT and O2 during exercise. It is concluded that the analysis of the steepness of the slope of CO2 is a sensitive, reproducible, and objective approach to evaluate the integrative cardiopulmonary response to exercise. It complements the assessment of a subnormal VAT by reflecting the extent of anaerobic metabolism.

Aerobiosis↗

Serial cardiorespiratory exercise testing in patients with congenital heart disease.

Aerobic capacity of patients with different forms of congenital heart disease was serially evaluated in 79 patients and the evolution was correlated with the lesion and the level of daily activity. The patients were divided into six groups: patients with a small ventricular septal defect (VSD) with mini shunt (n = 14), mild pulmonary valve stenosis with gradient < 40 mm Hg (PS) (n = 12), mild to moderate aortic valve stenosis (gradient 36 +/- 17 mmHg) (AS) (n = 12), patients 4.7 +/- 2.1 years after repair of tetralogy of Fallot (PO-TF) (n = 16), patients 2.2 +/- 2.9 years after closure of a high flow/high gradient VSD (PO-VSD) (n = 13), and patients 2.6 +/- 1.7 years after Fontan repair (Fontan-PO) (n = 12). Aerobic capacity was assessed by determination of the ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT). VAT reflects the highest aerobic exercise level prior to a disproportionate increase of CO2 and ventilation relative to O2 uptake; it is independent of patient motivation. Data are expressed as percentage of normal O2 uptake at VAT, determined in 234 age/gender matched controls. The habitual level of physical activity was assessed by a standardised questionnaire. Aerobic capacity in all subgroups of patients, even with very mild defects, was at or below the lower limit of normal. Children left unrestricted from physical exercise (VSD, PS, PO-VSD) had no change over the study period. However, aerobic capacity of patients with medically imposed physical restrictions (AS) and significant residual haemodynamic lesions (PO-TF, Fontan) decreased with age.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

Reliability of subjective estimates of exercise capacity after total repair of tetralogy of Fallot.

Sixty-nine patients (age 10 +/- 3.5 years, median 9.7 years) operated on for tetralogy of Fallot, underwent exercise testing 5.1 +/- 2.5 years after total correction. Aerobic capacity was assessed by the ventilatory threshold method. After the exercise test, parents completed a validated standardized questionnaire to evaluate the habitual level of physical activity of their child. They were then asked to place their child into one of three groups, describing their child's activity level, compared to normals (below average, average and above average). In the average and above-average groups, 73% and 65% of the patients were misclassified when compared to objective exercise testing. However, in the below-average group, no misclassifications were found. Subjective estimates of activity level, and consequently exercise tolerance, were poorly associated with objective measurements of exercise performance in these patient groups. Our results question the reliability of self-reported estimates of physical activity level and consequently exercise capacity in children after surgical correction of tetralogy of Fallot.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Cardiorespiratory exercise performance after Senning operation for transposition of the great arteries.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the cardiorespiratory response to graded exercise in patients after the Senning operation for transposition of the great arteries. DESIGN: Cross sectional study. Exercise performance was assessed by determination of the ventilatory anaerobic threshold. This was defined as the exercise intensity at which the ventilatory equivalent for oxygen (VE/VO2) started to increase systematically without a concomitant increase in the ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide (VE/VCO2). SETTING: Outpatient department. PATIENTS: Sequential sample of 20 patients studied 5-10 years (mean 7.3 years) after the Senning operation. Age at exercise testing varied from 5 to 11 (mean 7.8) years. RESULTS: The ventilatory threshold in the patients was significantly lower than normal (p < 0.005) and averaged 79.3% (SD 13%) and 80% (12%) of the predicted normal value for age and weight, respectively. Also, the ventilatory threshold was surpassed sooner (mean 3.2 (range 2-5) minutes) in the patients than in normal controls (3.9 (2.6-4.6) minutes). The lower ventilatory threshold was associated with a subnormal oxygen uptake (ml/min/kg) during submaximal exercise, a higher than normal ventilatory equivalent for oxygen ratio, and a lower end tidal carbon dioxide tension in the patients compared with normal controls. In half of the patients heart rate was lower during graded exercise. This relative bradycardia was not associated with a normal ventilatory threshold, as often seen in fit young people. No major disturbances in rhythm were observed during exercise. CONCLUSION: Exercise performance, assessed by respiratory gas exchange, was slightly but significantly lower than normal in patients after the Senning operation. A subnormal ventilatory threshold, associated with a higher than normal ventilatory response during submaximal exercise, supports the hypothesis that oxygen delivery to tissues is slightly impaired in these patients.

Anaerobic Threshold↗