AI Article Synopsis

  • The study investigates how different body postures (upright, semi-supine, and supine) impact maximal oxygen uptake (VOmax) and other exercise performance measures during cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).
  • Ten healthy young males participated, showing that VOmax decreased significantly in semi-supine and supine positions compared to upright, indicating that posture affects exercise capacity.
  • The findings suggest that when assessing cardiovascular fitness using CPET, clinicians should take into account the testing posture, as it influences VOmax and related cardiac measures like stroke volume and cardiac output.

Article Abstract

Purpose: Semi-supine and supine cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) with concurrent cardiac imaging has emerged as a valuable tool for evaluating patients with cardiovascular disease. Yet, it is unclear how posture effects CPET measures. We aimed to discern the effect of posture on maximal oxygen uptake (VOmax) and its determinants using three clinically relevant cycle ergometers.

Methods: In random order, 10 healthy, active males (Age 27 ± 7 years; BMI 23 ± 2 kg m) underwent a ramp CPET and subsequent constant workload verification test performed at 105% peak ramp power to quantify VOmax on upright, semi-supine and supine cycle ergometers. Doppler echocardiography was conducted at peak exercise to measure stroke volume (SV) which was multiplied by heart rate (HR) to calculate cardiac output (CO).

Results: Compared to upright (46.8 ± 11.2 ml/kg/min), VOmax was progressively reduced in semi-supine (43.8 ± 10.6 ml/kg/min) and supine (38.2 ± 9.3 ml/kg/min; upright vs. semi-supine vs. supine; all p ≤ 0.005). Similarly, peak power was highest in upright (325 ± 80 W), followed by semi-supine (298 ± 72 W) and supine (200 ± 51 W; upright vs. semi-supine vs. supine; all p < 0.01). Peak HR decreased progressively from upright to semi-supine to supine (186 ± 11 vs. 176 ± 13 vs. 169 ± 12 bpm; all p < 0.05). Peak SV and CO were lower in supine relative to semi-supine and upright (82 ± 22 vs. 92 ± 26 vs. 91 ± 24 ml and 14 ± 3 vs. 16 ± 4 vs. 17 ± 4 l/min; all p < 0.01), but not different between semi-supine and upright.

Conclusion: VOmax is progressively reduced in reclined postures. Thus, posture should be considered when comparing VOmax results between different testing modalities.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00421-021-04630-7DOI Listing

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