Phenotyping Exercise Limitation in Systemic Sclerosis: The Use of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing.

Background: Exercise impairment is a common symptom of systemic sclerosis (SSc), a disorder which is frequently complicated by cardiopulmonary involvement.

Objectives: This study's aims were: (a) to define the prevalence and the potential causes of limited exercise capacity and (b) to study potential differences in clinical, radiological and functional characteristics and blood serology among SSc patients with exercise limitation of different etiology.

Methods: Prospectively collected data on SSc patients who had conducted full lung function testing, blood serology, thorax high-resolution computed tomography, Doppler echocardiogram and a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) were retrospectively analyzed.

Resting energy expenditure in OSAS: the impact of a single CPAP application.

Purpose: Data on the impact of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and its treatment on resting energy expenditure (REE) are currently few and conflicting. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of OSAS on REE, as measured before and after sleep, and the changes in REE after a single continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) application, for the first time in literature.

Methods: This is a nested case-control study.

The financial crisis has an impact in sleep medicine: experience of a sleep clinic in Greece.

Objective: Greece has entered a long period of economic crisis with adverse effects in daily life. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of the economic crisis on the population visiting a sleep clinic between years 2008 and 2011.

Methods: Comparison of the number of patients, anthropometric data, symptoms, and treatment between 2008 (beginning of crisis) to 2011(great impact of crisis) was conducted.

The Impact of Pulmonary Arterial Pressure on Exercise Capacity in Mild-to-Moderate Cystic Fibrosis: A Case Control Study.

Background. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an often complication of severe cystic fibrosis (CF); however, data on the presence and impact of pulmonary vasculopathy in adult CF patients with milder disease, is very limited. Aim.

Exercise capacity in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: the effect of pulmonary hypertension.

Background And Objective: Increased pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) usually coexists with impaired lung function in IPF. Data on the effect of pulmonary hypertension (PH) on cardiopulmonary responses during exercise in IPF patients is very limited. We sought to investigate the impact of PH on exercise capacity and the correlation between systolic PAP (sPAP) and pulmonary function testing, as well as cardiopulmonary exercise parameters, in patients with IPF and PH.

Successful up-front combination therapy in a patient with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension and patent foramen ovale: an alternative to epoprostenol therapy?

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life-threatening disease of the pulmonary arterioles, which, in the absence of effective therapy, progresses rapidly to right heart failure and death. Opening of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) is common in patients with severe pulmonary hypertension (PH), resulting in resistive hypoxemia. We report the case of a 40-year-old woman with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (iPAH) in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III to IV, who was admitted in the intensive care unit with hemodynamic compromise and severe hypoxemia due to right-to-left shunt throughout a PFO.