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Effect of heliox on heart rate kinetics and dynamic hyperinflation during high-intensity exercise in COPD

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Abstract

Respiratory mechanical abnormalities in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may impair cardiodynamic responses and slow down heart rate (HR) kinetics compared with normal resulting in reduced convective oxygen delivery during exercise. We reasoned that heliox breathing (79% helium–21% oxygen) and the attendant reduction of operating lung volumes should accelerate HR kinetics in the transition from rest to high-intensity exercise. Eleven male ambulatory patients with clinically stable COPD undertook constant work-rate cycle testing at 80% of each individuals’ maximum work capacity while breathing room air (RA) or heliox (HX), randomly. Mean response time (MRT) for HR and dynamic end-expiratory lung volume (EELV) were measured. Resting EELV was not affected by HX breathing, while exercise EELV decreased significantly by 0.23 L at isotime during HX breathing compared with RA. During HX breathing, MRT for HR significantly accelerated (p = 0.002) by an average of 20 s (i.e., 17%). Speeded MRT for HR correlated with indices of reduced lung hyperinflation, such as EELV at isotime (r = 0.88, p = 0.03), and with improved exercise endurance time (r = −0.64, p = 0.03). The results confirm that HX-induced reduction of dynamic lung hyperinflation is associated with consistent improvement in indices of cardio-circulatory function such as HR kinetics in the rest-to-exercise transition in COPD patients.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Physio-Pathologie Respiratoire, Equipe de Recherche ER 10, Faculté de Médecine Pierre et Marie Curie (site Pitié-Salpêtrière), Université Paris VI, Paris, France

    Pierantonio Laveneziana

  2. Service de Pneumologie et Réanimation, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France

    Pierantonio Laveneziana

  3. Pulmonary Lung Function Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Viale Università 37, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Pierantonio Laveneziana, Gabriele Valli, Paolo Onorati, Patrizia Paoletti, Alessandro Maria Ferrazza & Paolo Palange

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  1. Pierantonio Laveneziana
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  2. Gabriele Valli
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  3. Paolo Onorati
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  4. Patrizia Paoletti
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  5. Alessandro Maria Ferrazza
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  6. Paolo Palange
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Correspondence to Paolo Palange.

Additional information

Communicated by Susan Ward.

P. Laveneziana and G. Valli have equally contributed to the paper.

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Laveneziana, P., Valli, G., Onorati, P. et al. Effect of heliox on heart rate kinetics and dynamic hyperinflation during high-intensity exercise in COPD. Eur J Appl Physiol 111, 225–234 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-010-1643-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-010-1643-z

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