OBJECTIVE To determine the nocturnal oximetry pattern in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients having no sleep apnea and presenting mild daytime hypoxemia, to identify probable daytime parameters capable of predicting nocturnal desaturation, and to evaluate the influence of nocturnal desaturation on the sleep pattern of these patients. METHODS Twenty-five patients were divided into t...

Patients with obstructive and restrictive ventilatory abnormalities suffer from exercise intolerance and dyspnea. Breathing pattern components (volume, flow, and timing) during incremental exercise may provide further insight in the role played by dynamic hyperinflation in the genesis of dyspnea. This study analyzed the breathing patterns of patients with obstructive and restrictive ventilatory...

BACKGROUND Breathlessness is the most common symptom in people with pulmonary arterial hypertension and congenital heart disease (CHD-APAH), previously thought to be caused by worsening PAH, but perhaps also by inflammation and abnormalities of lung function. We studied lung function and airway inflammation in patients with CHD-APAH and compared the results with controls. METHODS AND RESULTS ...

Lung function of healthy boys and girls in Jamaica in relation to ethnic composition, test exercise performance, and habitual physical activity. The relationships of forced expiratory volume and forced vital capacity on height, age, sex, area of residence, and ethnic composition were assessed in 622 children in Jamaica. Rural children in hill-farming communities were judged to have a higher hab...

Deep breaths taken before inhalation of methacholine attenuate the decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 s and forced vital capacity in healthy but not in asthmatic subjects. We investigated whether this difference also exists by using measurements not preceded by full inflation, i.e., airway conductance, functional residual capacity, as well as flow and residual volume from partial forced ...

We studied whether bronchodilatation occurs with exercise during the late asthmatic reaction (LAR) to allergen (group 1, n = 13) or natural asthma (NA; group 2, n = 8) and whether this is sufficient to preserve maximum ventilation (VE(max)), oxygen consumption (VO(2 max)), and exercise performance (W(max)). In group 1, partial forced expiratory flow at 30% of resting forced vital capacity incre...

BACKGROUND Several studies showed that blood pressure and lung function are associated. Additionally, a potential effect of antihypertensive medication, especially beta-blockers, on lung function has been discussed. However, side effects of beta-blockers have been investigated mainly in patients with already reduced lung function. Thus, aim of this analysis is to determine whether hypertension ...

The effects of particulate matter <10 microm in diameter (PM10) and other air pollutants on lung function were assessed in 975 schoolchildren, from eight communities in Lower Austria between 1994-1997. In each community, air pollution data were collected. Spirometry was performed twice a year. PM10 concentration (mean concentration between two subsequent lung-function measures in spring and aut...

[Purpose] To investigate the effects of intensive aerobic exercise on respiratory capacity and walking ability in chronic stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=6) or a control group (n=6). Patients in the experimental group received intensive aerobic exercise for 30 minutes and traditional physical therapy once a day, five days a...