Cardiac Correlates of Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hypertension in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure Due to Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) may develop pulmonary hypertension at rest and during exercise. The cardiac correlates of pulmonary hypertension have been ascertained in the resting state, but seldom during exercise in these patients. AIMS: We sought to determine the cardiac correlates of exercise induced pulmonary hypertension in patients with LVSD by monitoring the estimated pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) by continuous Doppler echocardiography during semirecumbent bicycle exercise. METHODS: Eighty-five patients (mean age 57 +/- 13 years, 75% male) with CHF due to LVSD (LV ejection fraction [EF] <45%, mean LVEF 26 +/- 8%) were studied. RESULTS: Mitral effective regurgitant orifice area and E-wave were independent predictors of resting PASP. Resting PASP and exercise induced changes in PASP were unrelated (r =-0.08, P = 0.45). Decrease in LV end-systolic volume, increase in left atrial (LA) area, resting LV asynchrony, and decreased tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) were independent predictors of exercise PASP. CONCLUSIONS: Resting LV asynchrony, impaired LV contractile reserve, and increase in LA dilatation correlate with the severity of exercise induced pulmonary hypertension in patients with CHF due to LVSD, while right ventricular systolic dysfunction is inversely related to the severity of exercise induced pulmonary hypertension.