TY - JOUR T1 - Central hemodynamics, pleural pressure and normoxic heliox during exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 40 IS - Suppl 56 SP - 3314 AU - Bart Boerrigter AU - Harm-Jan Bogaard AU - Herman Groepenhoff AU - Nico Westerhof AU - Anton Vonk-Noordegraaf Y1 - 2012/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/3314.abstract N2 - Background. Altered pulmonary mechanics, due to airway obstruction, are thought to hamper cardiac function during exercise in patients with COPD. If so, improving airflow would lead to an enhanced cardiac function.Methods. Pleural pressure, dynamic hyperinflation and central hemodynamics, by right heart catheterisation, were simultaneously measured in patients with moderate to very severe COPD at rest and during exercise; both in ambient air and while breathing a normoxic helium-oxygen mixture (heliox).Results. Seventeen patients were included (FEV1: 53 ± 17%, FEV1/VC: 42±10%). Breathing heliox lowered expiratory pleural pressure at rest (3.8±2.6 to 1.8±2.3 mmHg) and during exercise (8.2±3.6 to 6.1±3.3 mmHg), both p<0.05. During exercise we did not find any improvements in stroke volume or cardiac output. At rest we found improvements in cardiac output (6.1±1.4 to 6.6±1.1 L/min/m2), stroke volume (80±22 to 87±19 ml/m2) and mixed venous oxygen saturation (66±6 to 69±6%; all p<0.05). Dynamic hyperinflation did not improve with heliox.Conclusion. Heliox breathing did not affect cardiac function during exercise. This implies that altered pulmonary mechanics do not substantially affect cardiac function during exercise in COPD. ER -