Hemodynamic Predictors of Myocardial Oxygen Consumption During Static and Dynamic Exercise

Hemodynamic predictors of myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO 2 ) during static and dynamic exercise were examined in ten normal subjects. Studies were done under the following circumstances: 1) during upright bicycle exercise at an average heart rate of 147 beats/min, 2) during static exercise with an isometric load in the left hand equal to 17% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), and 3) during combined dynamic exercise (average heart rate 147 beats/min) and static exercise using 17% MVC of the left hand. Mean myocardial blood flow (MBF) was 181 ml/100 gm LV/min during dynamic exercise, 98 ml/100 gm LV/min during static exercise, and 201 ml/100 gm LV/min during combined static and dynamic exercise. Addition of a static load to the dynamic load resulted in a higher blood pressure (average 12 mm Hg), MVO 2 and MBF than during dynamic exercise alone. MVO 2 correlated best with products of heart rate and blood pressure regardless of whether the blood pressure was obtained by a central aortic catheter ( r = 0.88) or by a blood pressure cuff ( r = 0.85). When the current data were combined with previous data, 82 determinations of MVO 2 and MBF in 29 normal subjects during several levels of upright exercise were available for analysis. Forty-four determinations were done during dynamic upright exercise, 18 during exercise after propranolol, ten during combined static and dynamic work, and ten during static work alone. MVO 2 correlated best with the product of heart rate and blood pressure ( r = 0.86). Heart rate alone correlated better with MVO 2 ( r = 0.82) than did the tension time index ( r = 0.65) or the product of systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and ejection time ( r = 0.68). The readily measured variables of heart rate and of heart rate x blood pressure correlated well with MVO 2 in normal young men during exercise under a wide variety of circumstances.