title: Exercise training increases oxygen uptake efficiency slope in chronic heart failure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) is a novel measure of cardiopulmonary reserve. OUES is measured during an exercise test, but it is independent of the maximally achieved exercise intensity. It has a higher prognostic value in chronic heart failure (CHF) than other exercise test-derived variables such as(Equation is included in full-text article.)or(Equation is included in full-text article.)slope. Exercise training improves(Equation is included in full-text article.)and(Equation is included in full-text article.)in CHF patients. We hypothesized that exercise training also improves OUES.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We studied 34 New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-III CHF patients who constituted an exercise training group T (N=20; 19 men/1 woman; age 60+/-9 years; left ventricular ejection fraction 34+/-5%) and a control group C (N=14; 13 men/one woman; age 63+/-10 years; left ventricular ejection fraction 34+/-7%). A symptom-limited exercise test was performed at baseline and repeated after 4 weeks (C) or after completion of the training program (T). Exercise training increased NYHA class from 2.6 to 2.0 (P<0.05),(Equation is included in full-text article.)by 14% [P(TvsC)<0.01], and OUES by 19% [P(TvsC)<0.01]. Exercise training decreased(Equation is included in full-text article.)by 14% [P(TvsC)<0.05].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Exercise training improved NYHA class,(Equation is included in full-text article.)and also OUES. This finding is of great potential interest as OUES is insensitive for peak load. Follow-up studies are needed to demonstrate whether OUES improvements induced by exercise training are associated with improved prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maaike G J
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Gademan
authors.forename: Cees A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Swenne
authors.forename: Harriette F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Verwey
authors.forename: Hedde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van de Vooren
authors.forename: Joris C W
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Haest
authors.forename: Henk J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: van Exel
authors.forename: Caroline M H B
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.forename: Ger V J
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Cleuren
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Schalij
authors.forename: Ernst E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: van der Wall
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005080:Exercise Test; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013318:Stroke Volume; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left