Recovery kinetics of oxygen uptake after cardiopulmonary exercise test and prognosis in patients with left ventricular dysfunction.

Introduction: The prognostic value of peak oxygen uptake (peak VO2) in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction is currently recognized and accepted. Some studies have shown that other cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) parameters have additional value.

Objectives: To evaluate whether our population of patients with left ventricular dysfunction had similar results to those found by other investigators who showed that a slow normalization of oxygen uptake (VO2) during the recovery period of a CPET has prognostic value, and whether the recovery phase parameters have additional prognostic value to peak VO2 in these patients.