Importance of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing amongst Subjects Recovering from COVID-19

The cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) provides an objective assessment of ventilatory limitation, related to the exercise minute ventilation (VE) coupled to carbon dioxide output (VCO2); high values of VE/VCO2 slope define an exercise ventilatory inefficiency.

This prospective study explores the methodology of CPET to evaluate pulmonary damage’s clinical impact in post-COVID subjects.

More than one-fourth of post-COVID subjects present an exercise ventilatory inefficiency related to lower heart rate recovery; this aspect may be a novel hallmark of post-COVID cardiopulmonary alterations.

The study results suggest CPET as a potentially useful tool for identifying ventilatory and cardiovascular alterations in subjects recovered from COVID-19.

Moreover, CPET may be useful as a monitoring system for exercise capacity and cardio-ventilatory limitations in subjects admitted to a rehabilitation program.

Article details:

- Title: Importance of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing amongst Subjects Recovering from COVID-19
- Authors: Gianluigi Dorelli, Michele Braggio, Daniele Gabbiani, Fabiana Busti, Marco Caminati, Gianenrico Senna, Domenico Girelli, Pierantonio Laveneziana, Marcello Ferrari, Giulia Sartori, Luca Dalle Carbonare, Ernesto Crisafulli, On Behalf Of The Respicovid Study Investigators
- Published in: Diagnostics (Basel) 2021 Mar 12;11(3):507
- Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11030507