Clinical characteristics of chronic heart failure patients with an augmented peripheral chemoreflex

• Published in: European heart journal 1997-03, Vol.18 (3), p.480-486
• Main Authors: Chua, T. P., Ponikowski, P., Webb-Peploe, K., Harrington, D., Anker, S. D., Piepoli, M., Coats, A. J. S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cardiology. Vascular system; Case-Control Studies; Chemoreceptor Cells - physiopathology; Chronic heart failure; Dyspnea - physiopathology; Exercise Test; Exercise Tolerance - physiology; Female; Gated Blood-Pool Imaging; Heart; Heart Failure - diagnosis; Heart Failure - physiopathology; Heart failure, cardiogenic pulmonary edema, cardiac enlargement; Humans; Hypoxia - physiopathology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nitrogen; Oxygen Consumption; peripheral chemoreflex; Pulmonary Ventilation - physiology; Reproducibility of Results; Space life sciences; Tachycardia, Ventricular - physiopathology
• ISSN: 0195-668X; 1522-9645
• DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.eurheartj.a015269

Aims The peripheral chemoreflex may be augmented in chronic heart failure and may play a role in its pathophysiology including the mediation of exercise hyperpnoea and sympathetic activation. The objective of this study was to characterize the patients with an augmented peripheral chemoreflex. Methods and results Peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity was assessed by measuring the ventilatory response to hypoxia using transient inhalations of pure nitrogen in 50 patients with chronic heart failure (age 58·±12·1 (SD) years; radionuclide left ventricular ejection fraction 26·5±13·0%). The peripheral chemoreflex of 12 healthy controls with similar demographic characteristics was 0·272±0·201 1.min−1. %Sao2−1 compared with 0·673±0·4101.min−1.%Sao2−1 (P