Contractile reserve and cardiopulmonary exercise parameters in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, the two dimensions of exercise testing.

Background: Left ventricular (LV) contractile reserve assessed using imaging and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) has been shown to predict outcome in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Few clinical studies have, however, analyzed the relationship between them.

Methods: A cohort of 75 ambulatory patients with DCM underwent stress treadmill echocardiography with CPX.