title: Oxygen uptake efficiency slope, a new submaximal parameter in evaluating exercise capacity in chronic heart failure patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) is a new submaximal parameter which objectively predicts the maximal exercise capacity in children and healthy subjects. However, the usefulness of OUES in adult patients with and without advanced heart failure remains undetermined. The present study investigates the stability and the usefulness of OUES in adult cardiac patients with and without heart failure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-five patients with advanced heart failure (group A) and 35 patients with ischemic heart disease but normal left ventricular ejection fraction (group B) performed a maximal exercise test. PeakVO2 and percentage of predicted peakVO2 were markers of maximal exercise capacity, whereas OUES, ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT), and slope VE/VCO2 were calculated as parameters of submaximal exercise.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Group A patients had lower peakVO2 (P < .001), lower percentage of predicted peakVO2 (P = .001), lower VAT (P < .05), steeper slope VE/VCO2 (P < .001), and lower OUES (P < .02). Within group A, significant differences were found for VAT, slope VE/VCO2, and OUES (all P < .01) between patients with peakVO2 above and below 14 mL O2/kg/min. Of all the submaximal parameters, VAT correlated best with peakVO2 (r =.814, P < .01) followed by OUES/kg (r = .781, P < .01), and slope VE/VCO2 (r = -.492, P < .001). However, VAT could not be determined in 18 (23%) patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  OUES remains stable over the entire exercise duration and is significantly correlated with peakVO2 in adult cardiac patients with and without impaired LVEF. Therefore, OUES could be helpful to assess exercise performance in advanced heart failure patients unable to perform a maximal exercise test. Further studies are needed to confirm our hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Center, Onze Lieve Vrouw Hospital, Aalst, Belgium.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Van Laethem
authors.forename: Jozef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bartunek
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goethals
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nellens
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Andries
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vanderheyden
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015308:Anaerobic Threshold; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005080:Exercise Test; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D013318:Stroke Volume; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000378:metabolism