Skip Navigation


European Journal of Echocardiography Advance Access originally published online on April 2, 2009
European Journal of Echocardiography 2009 10(5):635-640; doi:10.1093/ejechocard/jep024
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
10/5/635    most recent
jep024v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mahjoub, H.
Right arrow Articles by Tribouilloy, C.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mahjoub, H.
Right arrow Articles by Tribouilloy, C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2009. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Effects of age on pulmonary artery systolic pressure at rest and during exercise in normal adults

Haïfa Mahjoub1, Franck Levy1, Mélanie Cassol1, Patrick Meimoun2, Marcel Peltier1, Dan Rusinaru1 and Christophe Tribouilloy1,*

1 University Hospital, Cardiology Unit, 80054 Amiens Cedex, France
2 Department of Cardiology and Intensive Care Unit, Compiègne Hospital, 8 rue Henri Adnot, 60200 Compiègne, France

Received 20 October 2008; accepted after revision 7 March 2009; online publish-ahead-of-print 2 April 2009.

* Corresponding author. Department of Cardiovascular Disease, INSERM, ERI 12, University Hospital Amiens, 4, Avenue René Laënnec, 80054 Amiens, France. Tel: +33 3 22 45 58 83; fax: +33 3 22 45 56 58. E-mail address: tribouilloy.christophe{at}chu-amiens.fr


  Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore the range of pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) at rest and with exercise in healthy individuals of various ages, as most studies assumed PASP > 35 mmHg with exercise as the upper limits of normal.

Methods and results: Seventy healthy volunteers, with a good continuous wave Doppler tricuspid regurgitation signal at rest, underwent quantitative Doppler echocardiographic measurements at rest and during semi-supine exercise test. Pulmonary artery systolic pressure was estimated at rest, at low level (25 W), and at peak exercise using four times tricuspid valve regurgitation velocity squared adding a right atrial pressure of 5 mmHg. During exercise, PASP increased from rest (27 ± 4 mmHg) to peak (51 ± 9 mmHg). None of the individuals reached a PASP ≥ 60 mmHg at 25 W. Pulmonary artery systolic pressure at peak was higher in individuals ≥60 years old compared with those from 20 to 59 years old (56 ± 9 vs. 49 ± 7 mmHg, P = 0.02). Pulmonary artery systolic pressure at peak exercise ≥60 mmHg was found in 36% of the individuals aged from 60 to 70 and in 50% after 70. Age, LV mass, and PASP at rest were independent predictors of PASP at peak exercise.

Conclusion: Pulmonary artery systolic pressure at peak exercise can reach values ≥60 mmHg in many healthy individuals older than 60 with good exercise capacity. However, high levels of PASP > 60 mmHg for low level of exercise should be considered abnormal.

Keywords: Pulmonary artery systolic pressure; Age; Exercise


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.