OBJECTIVES We assessed the prospective association of resting heart rate (RHR) at baseline with peak oxygen uptake (VO(2peak)) 23 years later, and evaluated whether physical activity (PA) could modify this association. BACKGROUND Both RHR and VO(2peak) are strong and independent predictors of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, the association of RHR with VO(2peak) and modifying ...

OBJECTIVE Closure of atrial septal defects (ASD) prevents pulmonary hypertension, right heart failure and thromboembolic stroke. The exact timing for ASD closure is controversial. METHODS In a prospective study to address the question whether unapparent pulmonary hypertension can be revealed prior to right ventricular (RV) remodelling, patients were investigated before and 6, 12, and 24 month...

This study aimed to analyze the agreement between measurements of unloaded oxygen uptake and peak oxygen uptake based on equations proposed by Wasserman and on real measurements directly obtained with the ergospirometry system. We performed an incremental cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), which was applied to two groups of sedentary male subjects: one apparently healthy group (HG, n=12) and...

BACKGROUND Nocturnal Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) occurs frequently in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), and it may be associated with sympathetic activation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether CSR could affect prognosis in patients with CHF. METHODS AND RESULTS Sixty-two CHF patients with left ventricular ejection fraction </=35%, in NYHA class II to III, underw...

Background The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of stress on left-to-right shunting in patients with atrial septal defect (ASD) and to investigate if the degree of shunting, cardiac output (CO), and right ventricular (RV) volumes are related to exercise capacity. Methods Twenty-six patients with a secundum ASD and 16 healthy volunteers were studied with rest/stress cardiac ma...

A 20-year-old male patient was admitted to the hospital in a life-threatening condition, haemodynamically unstable, with symptoms of low output syndrome. An intra-aortic balloon pump was introduced together with inotropic support for more than two weeks without any clinical improvement. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 10–15%, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) was 6.9...

OBJECTIVE Continued follow-up of the Fontan population group is mandatory in order to evaluate the best approach for long term treatment. We studied exercise capacity and survival in patients with either right atrial to right ventricular (Fontan-Bjoerk, RA-RV) anastomosis or right atrial to pulmonary artery (RA-PA) connection. METHODS Between January 1980 and December 1995 Fontan-Bjoerk modif...

BACKGROUND Endothelial dysfunction is a hallmark of diabetes mellitus and systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) and an early maker for atherosclerosis. Aerobic exercise training is known to enhance endothelial function, but little is understood about the effects of resistance or combined exercise training on endothelial function. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a 12-week ae...

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main source(s): received from the Norwegian University Science and Technology (NTNU) as a student in Master Physical Activity Health programme. Background/Introduction Individuals with cardiovascular disease are typically excluded studies aiming to present normative values for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) (1-5)...

The aim of this work is the acquisition of information about the health and physical performance of a human. Traditionally, clinical or laboratory environments with stationary measurement equipment are used for this purpose. However, technological advancements facilitate the development of compact, energy efficient microelectronic systems. Attached to the body of a human (body sensor), they all...