Effects of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty on cardiopulmonary responses during exercise

Aim. The aim of this study was to examine by means of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) whether dilating blocked coronary arteries in patients with coronary heart disease will improve relevant attributes measured during cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). Methods. Fourteen myocardial ischemia patients (13 male, 1 female; age range: 42-72 years), who were referred for cardiac catheterization, participated in the study. Eight patients underwent PTCA (experimental group) and 6 did not (control group). All subjects performed CPET about 2 weeks before and 3 weeks after cardiac catheterization. Results. The results of electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis reveal a very low predictive accuracy (36%) for identifying coronary heart disease and/or anatomical changes caused by the PTCA. However, selected CPET parameters in the experimental group only showed significant post-PTCA changes from baseline. Peak oxygen uptake (VO₂) increased from 17.49 to 20.75 mL·kg¹·min¹, ventilatory anaerobic threshold from 12.15 to 14.39 mL·kg¹·min¹, peak oxygen pulse (O₂pulse) from 11.76 to 13.27 mL·beat ¹, and O₂pulse slope from 7.05 to 9.25, slope category. No significant inter- or intra-group differences were found in peak exercise heart rate, respiratory exchange ratio, subjective rating of perceived exertion, or systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Conclusions. This study suggests that selected CPET parameters seem to be highly sensitive to changes in cardiac function caused by the PTCA, significantly more than with conventional stress ECG. These findings merit further investigation.