Exercise training reverses exertional oscillatory ventilation in heart failure patients

Exertional oscillatory ventilation (EOV) is an ominous prognostic sign in chronic heart failure (CHF), but little is known about the success of specific therapeutic interventions. Our aim was to study the impact of an exercise training on exercise capacity and cardiopulmonary adaptation in stable CHF patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction and EOV. 96 stable CHF patients with EOV were included in a retrospective analysis (52 training versus 44 controls). EOV was defined as follows: 1) three or more oscillatory fluctuations in minute ventilation (V′E) during exercise; 2) regular oscillations; and 3) minimal average ventilation amplitude ≥5 L. EOV disappeared in 37 (71.2%) out of 52 patients after training, but only in one (2.3%) out of 44 without training (p<0.001). The decrease of EOV amplitude correlated with changes in end-tidal carbon dioxide tension (r= -0.60, p<0.001) at the respiratory compensation point and V′E/carbon dioxide production (V′CO2) slope (r=0.50, p<0.001). Training significantly improved resting values of respiratory frequency (fR), V′E, tidal volume (VT) and V′E/V′CO2 ratio. During exercise, V′E and VT reached significantly higher values at the peak, while fR and V′E/V′CO2 ratio were significantly lower at submaximal exercise. No change was noted in the control group. Exercise training leads to a significant decrease of EOV and improves ventilatory efficiency in patients with stable CHF.