Abnormal Ventilatory Response to Exercise in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease Relates to Cyanosis and Predicts Survival

Abstract

Ventilatory response to exercise is abnormal across the spectrum of ACHD. Cyanosis is a powerful stimulus for such exaggerated ventilatory patterns irrespective of the presence of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Increased V(E)/V(CO2) slope is the strongest exercise predictor of death in noncyanotic ACHD patients.