Pulmonary function impairment in patients with chronic heart failure: Lower limit of normal versus conventional cutoff values

• Published in: Heart & lung 2014-07, Vol.43 (4), p.311-316
• Main Authors: Minasian, Armine G., MD, van den Elshout, Frank J.J., MD, PhD, Dekhuijzen, P.N. Richard, MD, PhD, Vos, Petra J.E., MD, PhD, Willems, Frank F., MD, PhD, van den Bergh, Paul J.P.C., MD, Heijdra, Yvonne F., MD, PhD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Airway management; Airway Obstruction - diagnosis; Airway Obstruction - etiology; Cardiology; Cardiovascular; Chronic Disease; Chronic heart failure; Classification; Conventional cutoff values; Critical Care; Cross-Sectional Studies; Definitions; Female; Heart failure; Heart Failure - complications; Heart Failure - physiopathology; Humans; Lower limit of normal; Lungs; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Prospective Studies; Pulmonary Diffusing Capacity; Pulmonary function impairment; Pulmonary/Respiratory; Respiratory Function Tests - standards
• ISSN: 0147-9563; 1527-3288
• DOI: 10.1016/j.hrtlng.2014.03.011

Abstract Objective To determine the prevalence of pulmonary function abnormalities in patients with chronic heart failure (HF) according to recent American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) guidelines using the lower limit of normal (LLN) compared to conventional cutoff values. Background Recent ATS/ERS guidelines recommend the use of the LLN instead of the conventional cutoff values to define pulmonary function impairment to avoid misclassification of patients. However, studies addressing the prevalence of pulmonary function abnormalities according to both definitions in patients with chronic HF are lacking. Methods In this prospective cross-sectional study, 164 chronic HF outpatients (age 68 ± 10 years, 78% men, 88% New York Heart Association class I–II) with left ventricular ejection fraction