Usefulness of cardiac index and peak exercise oxygen consumption for determining priority for cardiac transplantation.

Decisions regarding cardiac transplantation listing are difficult in patients with heart failure who have relatively discordant peak exercise oxygen consumption (Vo(2)) and cardiac index (CI) values. One hundred five patients with heart failure who underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing and right-sided cardiac catheterization for transplantation evaluation were studied. Patients were divided into 4 groups on the basis of peak Vo(2) and CI: group 1, Vo(2) > or = 12 ml/min/kg, CI > or = 1.

Echocardiography and risk prediction in advanced heart failure: incremental value over clinical markers.

Background: Incremental value of echocardiography over clinical parameters for outcome prediction in advanced heart failure (HF) is not well established.

Methods And Results: We evaluated 223 patients with advanced HF receiving optimal therapy (91.9% angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker, 92.