OBJECTIVES: This paper aims at comparing cardiorespiratory functional capacity during exercise - represented by indicators of functional limitation, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), and anaerobic threshold - plus cardiopulmonary responses to maximal exercise in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients belonging to different age groups. METHODS: Fifty-four CHF patients, stratified by age group, were evaluated as follows: group I - 30 to 39 years (n = 12); group II - 40 to 49 years (n = 18); group III - 50 to 59 years (n = 17); and group IV - 60 years and above (n = 7). All patients underwent maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) on treadmills. A single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to compare different age groups. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in maximal oxygen uptake and anaerobic threshold among the age groups, nor in maximal values for carbon dioxide production, oxygen pulse, respiratory exchange ratio, pulmonary ventilation, and ventilatory equivalents for oxygen and carbon dioxide. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that cardiorespiratory functional capacity during exercise in patients with CHF, as well as cardiopulmonary variables at maximal exercise, may be similarly affected by the heart disease in all studied age groups.
exercise; congestive heart failure; age
