title: Middle cerebral artery blood velocity during exercise in patients with atrial fibrillation.
abstract: Atrial fibrillation limits the ability to increase cardiac output during exercise and may, in turn, affect the exercise-associated elevation in cerebral perfusion. In nine patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and in five age-matched healthy subjects, middle cerebral artery blood velocity (MCA Vmean) was measured during incremental exercise using the transcranial Doppler. The AF patient group exhibited a lower aerobic capacity than the control group [peak work rate: 106 W (71-153 W; median and range) vs. 129 W (118-1.9 W) and maximal oxygen uptake: 1.4 l min-1 (1.0-1.9 l min-1) vs. 1.7 l min-1 (1.4-2.2 l min-1); P = 0.05]. At rest, MCA Vmean was not significantly different between the two groups [43 cm s-1 (39-56 cm s-1) vs. 52 cm s-1 (40-68 cm s-1)]. During intense cycling, the increase in MCA Vmean was to 51 cm s-1 (40-78 cm s-1) (9%) in the AF group and lower than in the healthy subjects [to 62 cm s-1 (50-81 cm s-1) 23%; P < 0.05], which corresponded with the smaller than expected increase in cardiac output [156% (130-169%) vs. 180%]. Thus, there was a correlation between the increase in MCA Vmean and the ability to increase cardiac output (r2 = 0.55, P < 0.01). We suggest that, during exercise with a large muscle mass, atrial fibrillation affects the ability to elevate cerebral perfusion, and this results from an impaired ability to increase cardiac output.
authors.affiliation: Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre, Department of Anaesthesia, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ide
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Gulløv
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pott
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Van Lieshout
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Koefoed
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Secher
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000502:physiology; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000502:physiology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology