Comparison of hemodynamic responses during dynamic exercise in the upright and supine postures after orthotopic cardiac transplantation

Changes in Resting and Exercise Hemodynamics Early After Heart Transplantation: A Simulation Perspective

Introduction: During heart transplantation (HTx), cardiac denervation is inevitable, thus typically resulting in chronic resting tachycardia and chronotropic incompetence with possible consequences in patient quality of life and clinical outcomes. To this date, knowledge of hemodynamic changes early after HTx is still incomplete. This study aims at providing a model-based description of the complex hemodynamic changes at rest and during exercise in HTx recipients (HTxRs). Materials and Methods: A numerical model of early HTxRs is developed that integrates intrinsic and autonomic heart rate (HR) control into a lumped-parameter cardiovascular system model. Intrinsic HR control is realized by a single-cell sinoatrial (SA) node model. Autonomic HR control is governed by aortic baroreflex and pulmonary stretch reflex and modulates SA node activity through neurotransmitter release. The model is tuned based on published clinical data of 15 studies. Simulations of rest and exercise are performed to study hemodynamic changes associated with HTxRs. Results: Simulations of HTxRs at rest predict a substantially increased HR [93.8 vs. 69.5 beats/min (bpm)] due to vagal denervation while maintaining normal cardiac output (CO) (5.2 vs. 5.6 L/min) through a reduction in stroke volume (SV) (55.4 vs. 82 mL). Simulations of exercise predict markedly reduced peak CO (13 vs. 19.8 L/min) primarily resulting from diminished peak HRs (133.9 vs. 169 bpm) and reduced ventricular contractility. Yet, the model results show that HTxRs can maintain normal CO for low- to medium-intensity exercise by increased SV augmentation through the Frank-Starling mechanism. Conclusion: Relevant hemodynamic changes occur after HTx. Simulations suggest that (1) increased resting HRs solely result from the absence of vagal tone; (2) chronotropic incompetence is the main limiting factor of exercise capacity whereby peripheral factors play a secondary role; and (3) despite the diminished exercise capacity, HTxRs can compensate chronotropic incompetence by a preload-mediated increase in SV augmentation and thus maintain normal CO in low- to medium-intensity exercise.

High prevalence of exercise-induced heart failure with normal ejection fraction in post-heart transplant patients

AIM

Post-heart transplant patients are at increased risk of diastolic dysfunction. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of isolated only exercise-induced heart failure with normal ejection fraction (HFNEF) in heart transplant recipients.

METHODS AND RESULTS

To determine pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) at rest and during exercise, 81 patients after orthotopic heart transplantation with normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) underwent exercise right heart catheterization with simultaneous exercise echocardiography. Based on PCWP values, the patients were divided into three groups. Twenty-one patients had no evidence of HFNEF (PCWP at rest < 15 mmHg, maximal PCWP during exercise < 25 mmHg, prevalence 26%). Forty-seven subjects were found to have only exercise-induced HFNEF (PCWP at rest < 15 mmHg, maximal PCWP during exercise ≥ 25 mmHg, prevalence 58%). Thirteen patients had HFNEF already at rest (PCWP ≥ 15 mmHg at rest, prevalence 16%). Of the noninvasive parameters obtained at rest, multivariate regression analysis identified LV mass index adjusted for allograft age to be an independent predictor of exercise-induced HFNEF.

CONCLUSIONS

In heart transplant recipients with normal LVEF, there is a high prevalence of exercise-induced HFNEF. LV mass index adjusted for allograft age is predictive of exercise-induced HFNEF.

Effect of heart transplantation on skeletal muscle metabolic enzyme reserve and fiber type in end-stage heart failure patients

BACKGROUND

Skeletal muscle myopathy is a hallmark of chronic heart failure (HF). Phenotypic changes involve shift in myosin heavy chain (MHC) fiber type from oxidative, MHC type I, towards more glycolytic MHC IIx fibers, reductions in oxidative enzyme activity, and increase in glycolytic enzyme activity. However, it is unknown if muscle myopathy is reversed following heart transplantation. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of heart transplantation on skeletal muscle metabolic enzyme reserve and MHC fiber type in end-stage HF patients.

METHODS

Thirteen HF subjects were prospectively studied before and two months after heart transplantation and a subgroup (n = 6) at eight months after transplantation. Skeletal muscle biopsy of the vastus lateralis was performed and relative MHC composition was determined using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), citrate synthase (CS), and 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase (HACoA) enzyme activity assays were performed to assess glycolytic, oxidative, and beta-oxidative metabolic enzyme reserves, respectively.

RESULTS

Lactate dehydrogenase activity (130.5 +/- 13.3 vs. 106.1 +/- 13.2 micromol/g wet wt/min, p < 0.05), CS activity (14.0 +/- 1.2 vs. 9 +/- 0.9 micromol/g wet wt/min, p < 0.05), and HACoA activity (4.5 +/- 0.48 vs. 3.6 +/- 0.3 micromol/g wet wt/min, p < 0.05) decreased two months after heart transplantation. At eight months, LDH activity was restored (139.0 +/- 11 micromol/g wet wt/min), but not CS or HACoA activity compared with before transplantation. There was no significant change in muscle %MHC type I (28.7 +/- 3.5% vs. 25.3 +/- 3.0%, p = NS), %MHC type IIa (33.2 +/- 2.0% vs. 34.6 +/- 1.9%, p = NS), or %MHC type IIx (38.1 +/- 2.8% vs. 40.1 +/- 3.7%, p = NS) fiber type two months after heart transplantation. However, %MHC type I (19.3 +/- 6.6%) was decreased and %MHC type IIx (51.0 +/- 6.5%) was increased at eight months after (p < 0.05) compared with before transplantation.

CONCLUSIONS

Skeletal muscle glycolytic, oxidative, and beta-oxidative enzymatic reserves are diminished early after heart transplantation, with reduced oxidative capacity persisting late in the first year. The myopathic MHC phenotype present in end-stage HF persists early in the post-operative state and declines further by eight months.

Effect of resistance exercise on skeletal muscle myopathy in heart transplant recipients

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of resistance exercise in reversing skeletal muscle myopathy in heart transplant recipients. Myopathy, engendered by both heart failure and immunosuppression with glucocorticoids, is a post-transplant complication. The sequelae of myopathic disease includes fiber-type shifts and deficits in aerobic metabolic capability. We randomly assigned patients to either 6 months of resistance exercise (training group; n = 8) or a control (control group; n = 7) group. Exercise was initiated at 2 months after transplant. Biopsy of the right vastus lateralis was performed before and after the 6-month intervention. Myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition was assessed using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Biochemical assays were performed to determine citrate synthase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase, and lactate dehydrogenase activity. There were no group differences (p >or=0.05) in MHC composition and enzymatic reserve at baseline. Improvements in the training group for citrate cynthase (+40%), 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase (+10%), and lactate dehydrogenase activity (+48%) were significantly greater (p <or=0.05) than in the control group (+10%, -15%, and +20%, respectively). Oxidative type 1 MHC isoform concentration increased significantly in the training group (+73%, p <or=0.05) but decreased in the control group (-28%; p <or=0.05). Glycolytic type 2x MHC isoform increased significantly (17%; p <or=0.05) in the control group but decreased (-33%; p <or=0.05) in the training group. This is the first study to demonstrate that resistance training elicits myofibrillar shifts from less oxidative type II fibers to more oxidative fatigue-resistant type I fibers in heart transplant recipients. Resistance exercise initiated early in the post-transplant period is efficacious in changing skeletal muscle phenotype through increases in enzymatic reserve and shifts in fiber morphology.

Exercise assessment in infants after cardiac transplantation

BACKGROUND

Few data describe exercise performance after cardiac transplantation during infancy. The aim of this study was to compare the cardiorespiratory response to exercise in healthy subjects with that of subjects who had undergone heart transplantation during infancy to treat hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

METHODS

Subjects (24 heart transplant recipients and 25 healthy controls) exercised on a treadmill using pediatric ramp protocols. We measured heart rate (HR), blood pressure, and metabolic data. Median age at transplantation was 20 days (range, 4 to 97 days). Age of recipients at exercise testing was 9.7 +/- 2.3 years and in healthy subjects was 10.5 +/- 1.4 years (p=not significant [NS]).

RESULTS

Exercise duration was similar in both groups (10.3 +/- 2.0 minutes in recipients vs 11.1 +/- 1.5 minutes in healthy subjects, (p=NS). Heart rate at rest was greater in recipients (94 +/- 15 beats per minute [bpm] vs 85 +/- 11 bpm, p=0.02). Peak HR also was less in the recipient group (158 +/- 15 bpm vs 189 +/- 12 bpm, p <0.001). Peak oxygen consumption was 14% less in the recipients (32.3 +/- 5.6 ml/kg/min vs 36.8 +/- 5.5 ml/kg/min, p <0.01). Ventilatory anaerobic threshold was decreased in recipients, 27.6 +/- 9.6 vs 32.8 +/- 6.0, p <0.05. Respiratory exchange ratio at peak exercise was equal in both groups (1.06 +/- 0.06 vs 1.06 +/- 0.08). Oxygen pulse index did not differ significantly, 5.5 +/- 1.1 ml/beat/m2 in recipients and 6.1 +/- 1.7 ml/beat/m2 in healthy subjects (p=NS).

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, children who undergo cardiac transplantation in infancy have exercise capacities within the normal range. These recipients have a decreased heart rate reserve that may account for the differences in peak oxygen consumption when compared with healthy subjects.

Anesthetic considerations in the patient with a heart transplant

As programs to increase the awareness of organ donation grow, more patients undergo cardiac transplantation. Because immunosuppressive therapy and postoperative care are improved, the 1-year survival rate of these patients has increased to more than 80%. Not surprisingly, these patients may, either coincidentally or as a result of medications, require other procedures using anesthesia, frequently at hospitals other than the highly specialized institution that performed the transplant. Because the denervated heart responds differently than the normal heart to many perioperative drugs, physicians, including cardiologists who are frequently consulted preoperatively, must have a special awareness of the particular problems in this group of patients.

Vagal reinnervation in the long term after orthotopic heart transplantation

BACKGROUND

Sympathetic reinnervation after orthotopic heart transplantation (HTx) has become an accepted phenomenon, particularly in long-term transplanted patients. Parasympathetic reinnervation, however, still remains questionable.

METHODS

In 38 HTx recipients, mean age of 51.6 +/- 9.7 years (range, 29 to 70 years), with a time span after HTx of 4.6 +/- 2.8 years (0.5 to 10.5 years), we stimulated carotid baroreceptors using periodic neck suction at low (0.1 Hz) and high (0.2 Hz) frequencies to test sympathetic and vagal responses, respectively. Respiratory rate was fixed at 0.25 Hz. We simultaneously recorded surface electrocardiogram, finger blood pressure, respiration and neck pressure signals while patients rested in the supine position. Time series of RR intervals, respiration, and neck and blood pressures were generated and subjected to spectral analysis.

RESULTS

All patients demonstrated a 0.25-Hz peak in RR-interval spectrum, caused by non-autonomic respiratory sinus arrhythmia. Thirteen patients (5. 2 +/- 3.5 years after HTx; range, 0.9 to 10.2 years) showed a baroreflex-induced sharp peak at 0.1 Hz in RR-interval power spectrum during 0.1-Hz neck suction, indicating sympathetic reinnervation. However at 0.2-Hz neck suction, 4 of the 13 sympathetically reinnervated patients displayed a baroreflex-induced 0.2-Hz peak, which could be suppressed with atropine administration-strong evidence for vagal reinnervation.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-invasive carotid baroreflex stimulation is an appropriate tool to prove restoration of autonomic control after orthotopic HTx. Sympathetic reinnervation parallels parasympathetic reinnervation in long-term transplanted patients.

Exercise following heart transplantation

During the past 2 decades, heart transplantation has evolved from an experimental procedure to an accepted life-extending therapy for patients with endstage heart failure. However, with dramatic improvements in organ preservation, surgery and immunosuppressive drug management, short term survival is no longer the pivotal issue for most heart transplant recipients (HTR). Rather, a return to functional lifestyle with good quality of life is now the desired procedural outcome. To achieve this outcome, aggressive exercise rehabilitation is essential. HTR present unique exercise challenges. Preoperatively, most of these patients had chronic debilitating cardiac illness. Many HTR have had prolonged pretransplantation hospitalisation for inotropic support or a ventricular assist device. Decrements in peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) and related cardiovascular parameters regress approximately 26% within the first 1 to 3 weeks of sustained bed rest. Consequently, extremely poor aerobic capacity and cardiac cachexia are not unusual occurrences in HTR who have required mechanical support or been confined to bed rest. Moreover, HTR must also contend with de novo exercise challenges conferred by chronic cardiac denervation and the multiple sequelae resulting from immunosuppression therapy. There is ample evidence that both endurance and resistance training are well tolerated in HTR. Moreover, there is growing clinical consensus that specific endurance and resistance training regimens in HTR can be efficacious adjunctive therapies in the prevention of immunosuppression-induced adverse effects and the reversal of pathophysiological consequences associated with cardiac denervation and antecedent heart failure. For example, some HTR who remain compliant during strenuous long term endurance training programmes achieve peak heart rate and VO2peak values late after transplantation that approach age-matched norms (up to approximately 95% of predicted). These benefits are not seen in HTR who do not participate in structured endurance exercise training. Rather, peak heart rate and VO2peak values in untrained HTR remain approximately 60 to 70% of predicted indefinitely. However, the mechanisms responsible for improved peak heart rate, VO2peak and total exercise time are not completely understood and require further investigation. Recent studies have also demonstrated that resistance exercise training may be an effective countermeasure for corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis and skeletal muscle myopathy. HTR who participate in specific resistance training programmes successfully restore bone mineral density (BMD) in both the axial and appendicular skeleton to pretransplantation levels, increase lean mass to levels greater than pretransplantation, and reduce body fat. In contrast, HTR who do not participate in resistance training lose approximately 15% BMD from the lumbar spine early in the postoperative period and experience further gradual reductions in BMD and muscle mass late after transplantation.

Short-term variability of pulse pressure and systolic and diastolic time in heart transplant recipients

In heart transplant recipients (HTR), short-term systolic blood pressure variability is preserved, whereas heart rate variability is almost abolished. Heart period is the sum of left ventricular ejection time (LVET) and diastolic time (DT). In the present time-domain prospective study, we tested the hypothesis that short-term fluctuations in aortic pulse pressure (PP) in HTR were related to fluctuations in LVET. Seventeen male HTR (age 48 +/- 6 yr) were studied 16 +/- 11 mo after transplantation. Aortic root pressure was obtained over a 15-s period using a micromanometer both at rest (n = 17) and following the cold pressor test (CPT, n = 14). There was a strong positive linear relationship between beat-to-beat LVET and beat-to-beat PP in all patients at rest and in 13 of 14 patients following CPT (each P < 0.01). The slope of this relationship showed little scatter both at rest (0.34 +/- 0.07 mmHg/ms) and following CPT (0.35 +/- 0.09 mmHg/ms, P = not significant). Given the essentially fixed heart period, DT varied inversely with LVET. As a result, in 13 of 17 HTR at rest and in 12 of 14 HTR following CPT, there was a negative linear relationship between beat-to-beat PP and DT. In conclusion, our short-term time-domain study demonstrated a strong positive linear relationship between LVET and blood pressure variability in male HTR. We also identified a subgroup of HTR in whom there was a mismatch between PP and DT.

Sympathetic reinnervation of sinus node and left ventricle after heart transplantation in humans: regional differences assessed by heart rate variability and positron emission tomography

BACKGROUND

Orthotopic heart transplantation (HTx) results in complete cardiac denervation. Reestablished partial sympathetic nerve function has been found in patients some years after HTx. However, the atrial and ventricular regional patterns of reinnervation have not been established.

METHODS

Two parallel methods were used to evaluate the regional restoration of sympathetic nerves in the myocardium. Patients were investigated with respect to ventricular reinnervation (VI) using positron emission tomography (PET) and the norepinephrine analogue C-11-hydroxyephedrine (HED). Tracer uptake was quantified using dynamic imaging protocols, yielding regional HED retention fraction. A regional value above 7%/minute ( +/- 2.5 SD above the mean value of denervated hearts) was considered evidence of sympathetic reinnervation. Spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) served as a quantitative marker for reinnervation at the sinus node (SI). Spectra of HRV during positive head-up tilt were calculated. The low frequency (LF) power spectral density (0.05 to 0.18 Hz) was evaluated.

RESULTS

After HTx (4. 6 +/- 3.9 years; range, 0.2 to 13.6 years), 38 patients (aged 50.9 +/- 7.6 years; range, 37 to 65 years) were investigated by PET imaging and HRV. Twenty-two patients with a mean HED retention of 10. 7 +/- 2.6%/minute were classified as left ventricular reinnervated. Sixteen patients with a mean HED retention of 4.8 +/- 0.8%/minute did not reach the threshold. The time difference after HTx was significant for these 2 groups, 5.3 +/- 3.0 years vs 3.8 +/- 4.7 years ( p < 0.05 ). The LF power spectral density of the ventricular reinnervated patients was 5.9 +/- 8.6 ms(2), and 1.8 +/- 4.4 ms(2) (p <0.005 ) for those not reinnervated. Low frequency showed small values and narrow distribution for the patients not reinnervated, assuming sinus node denervation, and showed extended distribution for the reinnervated, suggesting a heterogeneous reinnervation pattern.

CONCLUSIONS

Two non-invasive parallel methods were used to investigate regional reestablishment of cardiac nerves in the myocardium in HTx patients. Left VI assessed by PET imaging and SI by HRV was congruent in 60% of HTx patients. Lack of SI paralleled absence of VI. Our results suggest that partial VI occurs prior to SI.

Chronotropic competence in endurance trained heart transplant recipients: heart rate is not a limiting factor for exercise capacity

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to show that the chronotropic potential of the well trained heart transplant recipient (HTR) does not limit exercise capacity.

BACKGROUND

Chronotropic incompetence is considered to be the main limiting factor of the functional capacity of heart transplant recipients. However, no systematic study had been published on patients who had spontaneously undergone heavy endurance training for several years.

METHODS

Heart rate (HR) and respiratory gas exchanges (VO2, VCO2, VE) were measured in 14 trained HTRs (T-HTRs) during exercise tests on a bicycle, on a treadmill and by Holter electrocardiography during a race.

RESULTS

Peak values observed in T-HTRs during the treadmill test were higher than those reached during the bicycle test (VO2peak: 39.8+/-6.9 vs. 32.5+/-7.8 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1), p < 0.001; HRpeak: 169+/-14 vs. 159+/-16 bpm, p < 0.01). During treadmill exercise VO2peak and HRpeak values observed were very close to the mean predicted VO2pmax and HRpmax. The maximum heart rate during the race (HRrace) was greater than HRpeak values during the treadmill test (179+/-14 vs 169+/-14 bpm, p < 0.01) and slightly above the mean predicted values (HRrace/HRpmax X 100 = 101+/-10%). The treadmill exercise test yields more reliable data than does the bicycle test.

CONCLUSIONS

Extensive endurance training enables heart transplant recipients to reach physical fitness levels similar to those of normal sedentary subjects; heart rate does not limit their exercise capacity.

Impaired exercise capacity late after cardiac transplantation: influence of chronotropic incompetence, hypertension, and calcium channel blockers

BACKGROUND AND METHODS

Patients undergoing orthotopic cardiac transplantation manifest reduced exercise capacity during the first postoperative year, which is related primarily to chronotropic incompetence of the denervated heart. To determine whether exercise capacity improves during the long term after transplantation, we prospectively studied 45 patients from 1 month to 6 years after cardiac transplantation by use of maximal treadmill exercise testing for measurement of exercise duration, peak heart rate, and peak VO2. All had normal left ventricular ejection fractions. Patients were categorized according to length of time since transplant and compared to 14 untrained normal subjects.

RESULTS

Peak exercise heart rate and exercise duration were progressively higher as time after transplantation increased. However, patients who had undergone transplantation more than 2 years earlier continued to manifest a significant reduction in peak exercise heart rate (157+/-3 beats/min vs 178+/-14 beats/min) and reduced exercise duration (8.6+/-0.5 minutes vs 13.2+/-2.0 minutes) compared with controls. In contrast, peak VO2 was similar at all times after transplant and remained markedly reduced in patients who underwent transplantation more than 2 years earlier as compared with controls (22.1+/-0.7 mL/kg/min vs 42.1+/-9.1 mL/kg/min). The potential effects of 14 clinical variables on exercise performance were evaluated by regression modeling. Patients with poorly controlled hypertension had a shorter median exercise duration (7.4 minutes vs 9.7 minutes) and a lower median peak VO2 (20.3 mL/kg/min vs 23.2 mL/kg/min) compared with patients with normal or well-controlled blood pressure. Patients treated with calcium channel blockers for hypertension had greater chronotropic incompetence during exercise (peak heart rate 139 beats/min vs 158 beats/min). There was no relation between exercise capacity and recipient age, donor age, recipient sex, donor ischemic time, pretransplant diagnosis, length of peritransplant hospitalization, percentage of ideal body weight, left ventricular ejection fraction, frequency or severity of allograft rejection, or long-term use of oral prednisone therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Exercise capacity, as measured by treadmill exercise time and peak heart rate, improves in the first 2 years after transplantation, but does not reach normal values in patients up to 6 years after transplant. Peak VO2 remains significantly reduced at all times after transplantation despite the presence of normal resting left ventricular systolic function.

Cardiac output responses during exercise in volume-expanded heart transplant recipients

The mechanisms responsible for immediate adjustments in cardiac output at onset of exercise, in the absence of neural drive, are not well defined in heart transplant (HT) recipients. Seven male HT recipients (mean +/- SD 57 +/- 6 years) and 7 age-matched sedentary normal control subjects (mean age 57 +/- 5 years) performed constant load cycle exercise at 40% of peak power output (Watts). Cardiac output and plasma norepinephrine were determined at rest and every 30 seconds during the first 5 minutes of exercise and at minutes 6, 8, and 10. All subjects were admitted to the General Clinical Research Center for determination of plasma volume. After 3 days of equilibration to a controlled and standardized diet, plasma volume was measured using a modified Evans Blue Dye (T-1824) dilution technique. Heart rate at rest was higher in the HT group (105 +/- 12 vs 74 +/- 6 beats/min), but during submaximum exercise, heart rates in the control group increased more rapidly (p < or = 0.05) and to a greater magnitude (54 +/- 7% vs 17 +/- 4% above rest). Stroke volume at rest was lower in HT recipients (45 +/- 4 vs 68 +/- 9 ml) but was significantly augmented immediately after onset of exercise (30 seconds) and the relative increase was greater than controls at peak exercise (61% vs 38% greater than baseline). Cardiac output at rest was within the normal range in both groups (4.58 +/- 0.27 vs 4.94 +/- 0.40 L/min). Relative increases in cardiac output were similar (p > or = 0.05) for the HT (106 +/- 12%) and control groups (97 +/- 10%). Plasma norepinephrine did not become significantly greater than resting values until approximately 4 minutes after onset of exercise in both groups. Blood volume, normalized for body weight, was 12% greater in the HT group. Thus, HT recipients with expanded blood volume (12%) augment stroke volume immediately after the onset of exercise. Plasma norepinephrine levels contribute negligibly to the rapid adjustment in cardiac output. Rather, we speculate that abrupt on-transit increases in stroke volume are due to augmented venous return, secondary to expanded blood volume.

Resistance exercise prevents glucocorticoid-induced myopathy in heart transplant recipients

PURPOSE

To determine the effect of resistance exercise training (ET) on glucocorticoid-induced myopathy in heart transplant recipients (HTR), 14 male HTR were randomly assigned to a ET group that trained for 6 months (54 +/- 3 yr old; mean +/- SD) or a control group (51 +/- 8 yr old; mean +/- SD).

METHODS

Fat mass, fat-free mass, and total body mass were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry before and 2 months after transplantation (Tx), and after 3 and 6 months of ET or control period. The exercise regimen consisted of lumbar extension (MedX) performed 1 d.wk-1 and variable resistance exercises (Nautilus) performed 2 d.wk-1. PreTx body composition did not differ between groups.

RESULTS

At 2 months after Tx, fat-free mass was significantly decreased below baseline in both control (-3.4 +/- 2.1%) and ET groups (-4.3 +/- 2.4%). Fat mass was significantly increased at 2 months after Tx in both the control (+8.3 +/- 2.8%) and ET groups (+7.3 +/- 4.0%). Six months of ET restored fat-free mass to levels 3.9 +/- 2.1% greater (P < or = 0.05) than before Tx. Fat-free mass of the control group decreased progressively to levels that were 7 +/- 4.4% lower than preTx values (P < or = 0.05). Both groups increased knee extension, chest press, and lumbar extensor strength, but improvements in the ET group were four- to six-fold greater (P < or = 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our results demonstrate that glucocorticoid-induced changes in body composition in HTR occur early after Tx. However, 6 months of specific ET restores fat-free mass to levels greater than before Tx and dramatically increases skeletal muscle strength. Resistance exercise, as part of a strategy to prevent steroid-induced myopathy, appears to be safe and should be initiated early after heart Tx.

Cardiac versus noncardiac limits to exercise after heart transplantation

BACKGROUND

To determine whether the reduced exercise capacity of patients after heart transplantation is primarily a result of decreased cardiac or peripheral vascular factors, we examined the cardiac output (CO) and right atrial pressure (Pra) relation during graded cycle ergometry.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We studied 12 male patients (51.2+/-15.3 years [mean+/-SD]) 35.3+/-12.5 weeks after heart transplantation and 6 young healthy men. Patients had a normal increase in CO with increasing oxygen uptake (VO2) (CO = 0.00597 VO2 + 4.4, r = 0.83). Mean (+/-SEM) heart rate increased from 97.0+/-5.0 beats/min at rest to 146.9+/-6.9 beats/min at peak effort compared with the increase of 67.2+/-1.9 beats/min to 187.2+/-2.5 beats/min in the normal group. Pra in patients increased from 1.6+/-1.0 mm Hg at rest to 8.9+/-1.6 mm Hg during mild exercise but did not increase further at the highest work rates, even though CO continued to increase. In the normal group there was an initial increase in Pra from rest to exercise transition but little further change in Pra with increasing CO. Aerobic capacity (peak VO2) did not increase when cardiac function was increased with dobutamine during exercise in two patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The steep increase in CO relative to Pra during severe exercise in patients who undergo heart transplantation argues against the heart as the sole limiting factor during maximal effort.

Function of the transplanted heart: unique physiology and therapeutic implications

Orthotopic heart transplantation has become an established treatment for selected patients with refractory heart failure. Long-term survival rates are superior to those resulting from other forms of therapy for that patient population. In addition, an improved quality of life has been reported by many patients. However, despite these encouraging results, the transplanted heart does not provide the recipient with normal cardiac function. Cardiac physiology after heart transplantation is unique. Resting hemodynamics differ significantly, acutely and chronically, from those seen in healthy subjects. In addition, neural mechanisms undergo changes as a result of surgical denervation. Afferent control mechanisms and efferent responses both are altered, leading to important clinical abnormalities. Examples include altered cardiovascular responses to exercise, altered cardiac electrophysiology, and altered responses to cardiac pharmacologic agents. An improved understanding of the changes in cardiac physiology, which occur after heart transplant, may allow the care of these patients to be optimized.

Long-term sequential changes in exercise capacity and chronotropic responsiveness after cardiac transplantation

BACKGROUND

Peak exercise capacity improves early after orthotopic cardiac transplantation. However, the physiological response to exercise remains abnormal, with a reduced rate of heart rate (HR) rise and reductions in peak exercise HR and the increment in HR from rest to peak exercise. This chronotropic incompetence is due in large part to cardiac denervation. If reinnervation occurs after transplantation, it might result in an improvement in both chronotropic responsiveness and maximal exercise capacity. We therefore hypothesized that the chronotropic response to exercise and maximal exercise capacity would improve with time after transplantation.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Peak symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise tests performed in 57 clinically stable cardiac transplant recipients (mean age, 45 +/- 2 years) serially for up to 5 years after transplantation and in 33 control subjects without heart disease were analyzed retrospectively. Pretransplantation exercise tests were also performed in 41 patients an average of 4.7 +/- 0.6 months before transplantation. At 1 year after transplantation, peak oxygen consumption was 16.6 +/- 0.9 mL.kg-1.min-1, reflecting a 43% increase versus pretransplantation. Nevertheless, compared with control subjects, maximal exercise capacity and the HR response to exercise were subnormal in transplant recipients. There were no further increases in peak exercise capacity, peak exercise HR, or the peak increment in HR with exercise up to 5 years after transplantation.

CONCLUSIONS

One year after cardiac transplantation, peak exercise capacity and chronotropic responsiveness are subnormal. There is no further improvement in peak exercise capacity or chronotropic responsiveness as late as 5 years after transplantation. These data indicate that with regard to chronotropic responsiveness, functionally significant cardiac reinnervation does not occur between the first and fifth years after transplantation.

Demonstrable cardiac reinnervation after human heart transplantation by carotid baroreflex modulation of RR interval

BACKGROUND

After heart transplantation, respiration-synchronous fluctuations (0.18 to 0.35 Hz, high frequency [HF]) in RR interval may result from atrial stretch caused by changes in venous return, but slower fluctuations (0.03 to 0.15 Hz, low frequency [LF]) not due to respiration suggest reinnervation. In normal subjects, sinusoidal neck suction selectively stimulates carotid baroreceptors and causes reflex oscillations of RR interval.

METHODS AND RESULTS

To evaluate the presence of reinnervation, we measured the power of RR-LF and RR-HF in 26 heart transplant recipients and 16 control subjects before and during sinusoidal neck suction at 0.1 Hz and 0.20 Hz (similar to but distinct from that of controlled respiration, 0.25 Hz) and before and during administration of atropine or beta-blocker (esmolol hydrochloride) by spectral analysis. All transplant recipients showed small respiratory HF fluctuations. Nonrespiratory LF fluctuations were present in 13 of 26 transplant recipients and increased with months since transplantation (r = .53, P < .01). HF neck suction induced a 0.20-Hz component in all 16 control subjects and none of the 26 transplant subjects. LF neck suction increased RR-LF (from 0.73 +/- 0.20 to 1.30 +/- 0.26 ln ms2, P < .001), similar to but less than in control subjects (from 6.12 +/- 0.21 to 8.27 +/- 0.21 ln ms2, P < .001). Atropine reduced all fluctuations in control subjects and blocked the HF increase caused by 0.20-Hz neck suction but not the LF increase during 0.10-Hz stimulation. Neck suction-induced changes in LF fluctuations persisted after administration of atropine in transplant recipients but were attenuated by esmolol hydrochloride, suggesting sympathetic rather than vagal reinnervation.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of baroreceptor-induced RR oscillations is evidence of functional, although incomplete, autonomic reinnervation.

Squatting revisited: comparison of haemodynamic responses in normal individuals and heart transplantation recipients

BACKGROUND

Squatting produces a prompt increase in cardiac output and arterial blood pressure which is accompanied by an immediate decrease in heart rate and forearm vascular resistance. The rise in cardiac output and blood pressure has been attributed to augmented venous return from compression of leg veins, while the decreases in heart rate and forearm vascular resistance are probably due to activation of cardiopulmonary and arterial baroreflexes. Haemodynamic patterns in nine normal men and six heart transplant recipients during 2 min of squatting were examined to determine the role of cardiac innervation in the mediation of these responses.

METHODS

Stroke volume was monitored by ensemble averaged thoracic impedance cardiography and blood pressure was determined with an Ohmeda fingertip plethysmograph. These techniques provided continuous measurements which were capable of detecting transient and non-steady state changes. Forearm blood flow was measured with venous occlusion plethysmography. Measurements were obtained after 3 min of quiet standing, immediately after squatting, and at 20, 60, and 120 s of sustained squatting.

RESULTS

Both groups exhibited similar increases in stroke volume index (normal individuals 10.5 ml/m2; heart transplant recipients 10.3 ml/m2) and mean arterial pressure (normal individuals 8.5 mm Hg; heart transplant recipients 5.0 mm Hg) which were sustained throughout squatting. Each group also showed an initial decrease in peripheral resistance (normal individuals 3.6 units; heart transplant recipients 7.7 units) followed by a return to baseline values after 20 s. Heart rate decreased in normal individuals (10 beats/min) but was unchanged or minimally increased (2 beats/min) in heart transplant recipients. Forearm vascular resistance was conspicuously decreased in normal individuals (47.8 units) but only minimally (20.9 units) and not significantly in heart transplant recipients.

CONCLUSIONS

The major haemodynamic responses to squatting (increased cardiac output and blood pressure) are similar in normal individuals and heart transplant recipients. These responses are primarily due to augmented venous return and are not altered by cardiac denervation. Both groups also exhibited a transient decline in peripheral vascular resistance which is most likely mediated by arterial baroreflexes activated by the acute rise in arterial blood pressure. The absence of a significant decrease in forearm vascular resistance in heart transplant recipients suggests that this response is partially mediated by cardiopulmonary or ventricular baroreflexes or that local forearm flow mediated vasodilatation remains impaired after heart transplantation.

Cardiovascular dynamics and dimensions after bicaval and standard cardiac transplantation

Bicaval orthotopic cardiac transplantation leaving the right atrium intact has been introduced recently into clinical practice as an alternative to the standard method. To determine the effect of the surgical technique, 27 patients were studied at rest and supine exercise 19 +/- 5 months after bicaval orthotopic cardiac transplantation (group A, n = 15) and 22 +/- 7 months after standard orthotopic cardiac transplantation (group B, n = 12). Resting hemodynamics showed no difference between groups. With exercise, a significantly higher right atrial pressure was noted in group B. Echocardiographic analysis showed asynchronous right atrial contraction in 83% of group B patients versus none in group A. Resting right ventricular dimensions were significantly greater in group B (right ventricular end-diastolic diameter, 3.27 +/- 0.44 cm versus 2.88 +/- 0.35 cm [p < 0.05]; right ventricular end-diastolic area, 21.3 +/- 2.85 cm2 versus 17.1 +/- 2.01 cm2 [p < 0.005]). A higher incidence and significantly higher grade of tricuspid regurgitation were found throughout exercise in group B. The exercise duration (17.34 +/- 3.53 minutes versus 14.04 +/- 4.11 minutes [p < 0.05]) and the exercise capacity (1.17 +/- 0.25 W/kg versus 0.93 +/- 0.34 W/kg [p < 0.05]) were increased in group A. These data provide some evidence that the bicaval technique of cardiac transplantation improves cardiovascular dynamics and dimensions as well as exercise capacity.

Central and peripheral limitations to upright exercise in untrained cardiac transplant recipients

BACKGROUND

Functional capacity and quality of life are subjectively improved after cardiac transplantation. However, the objective improvement in exercise tolerance after transplantation has been disappointing. The extent to which allograft diastolic dysfunction contributes to this exercise intolerance has not been defined.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Thirty cardiac transplant recipients between 3 and 16 months after transplantation and 30 age-matched normal control subjects underwent maximal symptom-limited graded upright bicycle exercise testing with simultaneous radionuclide angiography, invasive hemodynamic monitoring, and breath-by-breath gas analysis. Mean blood pressure was higher in the transplant group at supine rest (112.1 versus 97.7 mm Hg), normalized with upright posture, and became lower than normal at peak exercise (121.1 versus 133.2 mm Hg). Systolic function as measured by ejection fraction was normal in both groups. However, the cardiac transplant recipients had significantly lower exercise tolerance, achieving a mean maximal work rate of 390 kilopond-meters per minute (kpm/min), compared with 825 kpm/min in the normal subjects. Peak oxygen consumption was 12.3 mL.min-1.kg-1 in the transplant group, 46% lower than the normal group's value of 22.9 mL.min-1.kg-1. The transplant patients had a resting tachycardia (94 beats per minute) and a 79% reduction in exercise heart rate reserve compared with normal. Despite this chronotropic incompetence, stroke index response to exercise was consistently lower after transplantation, accounting for a 41% reduction in cardiac index at maximal exercise. The lower stroke index was accompanied by a 32% lower end-diastolic volume index at rest and a 14% lower end-diastolic volume index at peak exercise. Despite the smaller ventricular volumes after transplantation, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure was 35% higher than normal at supine rest and 50% higher at maximal exercise. Right atrial and mean pulmonary arterial pressures were similarly elevated. The ratio of pulmonary capillary wedge pressure to end-diastolic volume index was significantly higher during the postural change and exercise, suggesting allograft diastolic dysfunction. Arteriovenous oxygen difference was similar between groups at rest and with submaximal exercise but was 24% lower at maximal exercise in the transplant group, suggesting an abnormality in peripheral oxygen uptake or utilization.

CONCLUSIONS

Exercise tolerance is severely limited during the first 16 months after cardiac transplantation despite preservation of allograft left ventricular systolic function. This intolerance is due to an inadequate cardiac index response from a combination of chronotropic incompetence and diastolic dysfunction limiting the appropriate compensatory use of the Starling mechanism. In addition, there is a peripheral abnormality in oxygen transport or utilization that may partially reflect the effects of deconditioning.

Response to upright exercise after cardiac transplantation

There is little information on the hemodynamic response to upright exercise in patients who have undergone cardiac transplantation. We compared the hemodynamic and metabolic response to upright bicycle exercise in 11 patients with heart transplants and 12 controls. Patients performed two tests--a steady-state test with a right heart catheter and a maximal incremental test. During steady-state exercise at 20% of their predicted maximum workload, patients with heart transplants had a higher (mean +/- SD, p < 0.05) heart rate (108 +/- 11 vs. 96 +/- 15 beats/min), mean systemic blood pressure (116 +/- 17 vs. 101 +/- 11 mmHg), mean pulmonary artery pressure (29 +/- 9 vs. 22 +/- 3 mmHg), mean pulmonary wedge pressure (14 +/- 6 vs. 9 +/- 2), pulmonary (302 +/- 101 vs. 220 +/- 50 d-sec-cm-5-m2) and systemic (2049 +/- 531 vs. 1459 +/- 520) resistance indices, and lactate concentration (3.4 +/- 1.7 vs. 1.7 +/- 0.4 mmol/l), and a lower stroke index (39 +/- 8 vs. 50 +/- 8 ml/m2) compared with controls. Cardiac index, right atrial pressure, and mixed venous oxygen saturation were similar. During the maximal exercise test, patients with heart transplants achieved a significantly lower percentage of predicted maximum heart rate (77 +/- 13 vs. 91 +/- 8%), workload (70 +/- 25 vs. 102 +/- 23%), oxygen consumption (63 +/- 11 vs. 108 +/- 19%), and ventilation (67 +/- 18 vs. 89 +/- 15%) compared with controls. Heart transplant patients also had a lower blood pressure and anaerobic threshold. We conclude that heart transplant patients have an altered hemodynamic and metabolic response to upright bicycle exercise.

Anaesthesia for non-cardiac surgery in heart-transplanted patients

This review documents the anaesthetic management, haemodynamic function and outcome in 18 of 86 heart-transplanted recipients, who returned for 32 non-cardiac surgical procedures at the Toronto Hospital from 1985 to 1990. General anaesthesia was administered in eight of the 27 elective operations and four of the five emergency operations. Induction medications included thiopentone (2-4 mg.kg-1), fentanyl (1-7 micrograms.kg-1) and succinylcholine (1-1.5 mg.kg-1). Anaesthesia was maintained with a combination of oxygen/nitrous oxide and isoflurane or enflurane. Muscle relaxation was maintained with vecuronium or pancuronium. No delayed awakening or unplanned postoperative ventilation was observed. Neurolept-anaesthesia was administered to 63.0% and 20.0% of the elective and emergency operations, respectively. The anaesthetics included fentanyl (25-100 micrograms) and midazolam (0.5-1.5 mg) or diazemuls (2.5-5.0 mg). Spinal anaesthesia (75 mg lidocaine) was administered to only two of the 27 elective operations. No important haemodynamic changes were observed in any anaesthetic group, but lower systolic BP was found after induction and during maintenance periods in the patients who received general anaesthesia than in those who received neurolept-anaesthesia. However, no anaesthesia-related morbidity or mortality was noted. This suggests that general, neurolept- and spinal anaesthesia do not affect haemodynamic function or postoperative outcome in heart-transplanted recipients undergoing subsequent non-cardiac surgery.

Exercise-induced hypoxemia in heart transplant recipients

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to determine whether heart transplantation has an adverse effect on pulmonary diffusion and to investigate the potentially deleterious effects of impaired pulmonary diffusion on arterial blood gas dynamics during exercise in heart transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND

Abnormal pulmonary diffusing capacity is reported in patients after orthotopic heart transplantation. Abnormal diffusion may be caused by cyclosporine or by the persistence of preexisting conditions known to adversely affect diffusion, such as congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

METHODS

Eleven patients (mean age 50 +/- 14 years) performed pulmonary function tests 3 +/- 1 months before and 18 +/- 12 (mean +/- SD) months after heart transplantation. Transplant patients were assigned to groups with diffusion > 70% (n = 5) or diffusion < 70% of predicted values (n = 5). The control group and both subsets of patients performed 10 min of cycle exercise at 40% and 70% of peak power output. Arterial blood gases were drawn every 30 s during the 1st 5 min and at 6, 8 and 10 min.

RESULTS

Significant improvements in forced vital capacity (17.4%), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (11.7%) and diffusion capacity (6.6%) occurred in the patients; however, posttransplantation vital capacity, forced expiratory volume and diffusion were lower (p < or = 0.05) compared with values in 11 matched control subjects. Changes in blood gases were similar among groups at 40% of peak power output. At 70% of peak power output, arterial blood gases and pH were significantly (p < or = 0.05) lower in transplant patients with low diffusion (arterial oxygen pressure 15 to 38 mm Hg below baseline) than in patients with normal diffusion and control subjects. Cardiac index did not differ (p > or = 0.05) between transplant patients with normal and low diffusion at rest or during exercise. Posttransplantation mean pulmonary artery pressure was significantly related to exercise-induced hypoxemia (r = 0.71; p = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

Abnormal pulmonary diffusion observed in patients before heart transplantation persists after transplantation with or without restrictive or obstructive ventilatory defects. Heart transplant recipients experience exercise-induced hypoxemia when diffusion at rest is < 70% of predicted. Our data also suggest that abnormal pulmonary gas exchange possibly contributes to diminished peak oxygen consumption in some heart transplant recipients; however, direct testing of this hypothesis was beyond the scope of the present study. This possibility needs to be investigated further.

Immediate cardiovascular responses to orthostasis in the early and late months after cardiac transplantation

Immediate post-standing (< 30 s) heart rate and blood pressure regulation was studied in patients in the early (2 +/- 2 months, n = 10) and late months (49 +/- 18 months, n = 30) after orthotopic heart or heart and lung transplantation with continuous non-invasive blood pressure (Finapress) and ECG recordings, and was compared to 15 healthy subjects. Heart rate acceleration on standing was standing was absent in the early post-transplantation period. Modest, delayed heart rate acceleration (maximum 12 +/- 8 beats/min) was seen late post-transplantation. Subgroup analysis showed that 15 patients late post-transplantation had limited (maximum 6 +/- 3 beats/min) heart rate acceleration, 11 patients showed maximum heart rate acceleration between 11 and 19 beats/min and 4 patients showed heart rate acceleration comparable in magnitude with that of normal subjects (maximum 28 +/- 5 beats/min). The blood pressure transients were comparable in the 3 groups, with a tendency for greater drop and smaller overshoot in systolic blood pressure in transplant subjects. The findings of normal blood pressure transients in the setting of extensive afferent cardiac denervation questions the role of intracardiac (intraventricular) receptors in reflex blood pressure regulation. The development of heart rate responsiveness is compatible with sympathetic reinnervation in many patients in the late post-transplantation period; however, an intrinsic cardiac mechanism may also be possible.

Abnormal neuroendocrine responses during exercise in heart transplant recipients

BACKGROUND

Osmotic and neural factors stimulate neuroendocrine activity during exercise. In contrast to excitatory mechanisms, afferent information from cardiac mechanoreceptors inhibits integrative centers in the hypothalamus and medula oblongata, which serves to buffer neuroendocrine activity. Orthotopic cardiac transplantation results in the loss of afferent information from cardiac mechanoreceptors. Thus, transplantation possibly results in exaggerated neuroendocrine responses when patients are physically active.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We measured the neuroendocrine response to moderate and strenuous exercise performed at the same relative intensity in 11 heart transplant recipients (50 +/- 14 years old) 18 +/- 12 months after transplantation and 11 control subjects matched with respect to sex, age, and body size. Plasma levels of norepinephrine, vasopressin, renin activity, atrial natriuretic peptide, angiotensin II, and aldosterone were measured at rest, during a maximal graded exercise test, and during submaximal exercise at 40% and 70% of peak power output on a cycle ergometer (W). Plasma renin activity and atrial natriuretic peptide were elevated at rest in heart transplant recipients (p < or = 0.05). Heart rate (%HRmax reserve), rating of perceived exertion, and reductions in plasma volume (% delta from rest) at the conclusion of the three exercise conditions did not differ between heart transplant recipients and control (p > or = 0.05). Relative changes in neuroendocrine hormones were similar (p > or = 0.05) in heart transplant recipients and control during exercise at 40% of peak power output. Relative changes in plasma norepinephrine, vasopressin, atrial natriuretic peptide, and plasma renin activity were greater (p < or = 0.05) in heart transplant recipients during exercise at 70% of peak power output and the graded exercise test.

CONCLUSIONS

We interpret these data as a possible indication of ablation of cardiac mechanoreceptor afferents and unopposed neuroendocrine stimulation in heart transplant recipients. Furthermore, chronic neuroendocrine hyperactivity is likely in ambulatory heart transplant recipients. Although cyclosporine nephrotoxicity is implicated in the development of hypertension, our data suggest that chronic neuroendocrine hyperactivity, which alters renal volume regulation, also contributes to the incidence and severity of hypertension in heart transplant recipients.

Deficient acceleration of left ventricular relaxation during exercise after heart transplantation

BACKGROUND

The exercise-induced rise in left ventricular filling pressures after cardiac transplantation is considered to be the result of a blunted heart rate response, of elevated venous return, and of unfavorable passive late-diastolic properties of the cardiac allograft. In contrast to passive late-diastolic left ventricular properties, the effect of left ventricular relaxation on the exercise-induced rise in left ventricular filling pressures of the cardiac allograft has not yet been studied. In the present study, the response of left ventricular relaxation to exercise was investigated in transplant recipients and compared with left ventricular relaxation observed in normal control subjects exercised to the same heart rate. Moreover, the response of left ventricular relaxation of the cardiac allograft to beta-adrenoreceptor stimulation, to reduced left ventricular afterload, and to increased myocardial activator calcium was investigated by infusion of dobutamine and of nitroprusside and by postextrasystolic potentiation.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Twenty-seven transplant recipients were studied 1 year (n = 17), 2 years (n = 7), 3 years (n = 2), and 4 years (n = 1) after transplantation. All patients were free of rejection and of significant graft atherosclerosis at the time of study. Tip-micromanometer left ventricular pressure recordings and cardiac hemodynamics were obtained at rest, during supine bicycle exercise stress testing (n = 27), during dobutamine infusion at a heart rate matching the heart rate at peak exercise (n = 8), during nitroprusside infusion (n = 9), and after postextrasystolic potentiation (n = 10). Tip-micromanometer left ventricular pressure recordings were also obtained in a normal control group (n = 9) at rest and during supine bicycle exercise stress testing to a heart rate, which matched the heart rate of the transplant recipient group at peak exercise. Left ventricular relaxation rate was measured by calculation of a time constant of left ventricular pressure decay (T) derived from an exponential curve fit to the digitized tip-micromanometer left ventricular pressure signal. In the transplant recipients, exercise abbreviated T from 43 +/- 6 to 40 +/- 8 msec (p less than 0.01) and caused a rise of left ventricular minimum diastolic pressure (LVMDP) from 5 +/- 2 to 9 +/- 6 mm Hg (p less than 0.001). In normal control subjects, exercise induced a 2.5 times larger abbreviation of T (from 42 +/- 7 to 34 +/- 6 msec; p less than 0.001) and a small drop in LVMDP from 5 +/- 2 to 4 +/- 3 mm Hg (p less than 0.05). In the transplant recipients, the change in T (delta T) from rest to exercise was variable ranging from an abbreviation, as observed in normal controls, to a prolongation and was significantly correlated with the change in RR interval (delta RR) and the change in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (delta LVEDP) (delta T = 0.068 delta RR + 0.58 delta LVEDP-2.2; r = 0.76; p less than 0.001). In a first subset of transplant recipients (n = 8), dobutamine infusion resulted in a heart rate equal to the heart rate at peak exercise, a left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (8 +/- 7 mm Hg) lower than at peak exercise (22 +/- 6 mm Hg; p less than 0.05) and a T value (32 +/- 9 msec), which was shorter than both resting value (44 +/- 5 msec; p less than 0.005) and value observed at peak exercise (40 +/- 8 msec; p less than 0.01). In a second subset of transplant recipients (n = 9), nitroprusside infusion and postextrasystolic potentiation resulted in a significant prolongation of T from 41 +/- 7 to 56 +/- 10 msec (p less than 0.05) and a characteristic negative dP/dt upstroke pattern with downward convexity as previously observed in left ventricular hypertrophy.

CONCLUSIONS

Exercise after cardiac transplantation resulted in a smaller acceleration of left ventricular relaxation than in a normal control group exercised to the same heart rate...

Normalization of upright exercise hemodynamics and improved exercise capacity one year after orthotopic cardiac transplantation

The mechanisms of improved functional capacity over the first year after cardiac transplantation are not well studied. To assess the contribution of cardiac changes to this improvement, the serial evolution of upright rest and exercise hemodynamics during graded upright bicycle exercise was studied in 17 patients at 3 and 12 months after heart transplantation. Heart rate responsiveness, reflected by rapid heart rate acceleration on sitting and rapid deceleration after exercise, developed in the first year. Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure was lower at 1 year, both at rest and at peak exercise (10 +/- 3 vs 13 +/- 5 mm Hg at rest supine and 14 +/- 6 vs 18 +/- 8 mm Hg at peak exercise, p less than 0.05). Similarly, right atrial pressures were also significantly lower at 1 year (4 +/- 2 vs 6 +/- 3 mm Hg at rest supine and 6 +/- 5 vs 11 +/- 5 mm Hg at peak exercise, p less than 0.05). Cardiac index at peak exercise was greater at 12 months (6.4 +/- 1.3 vs 5.8 +/- 0.8 liters/min/m2, p less than 0.05), mediated primarily by higher exercise heart rate (135 +/- 16 vs 125 +/- 12 beats/min, p less than 0.05). In the first year after heart transplantation, improved rest and exercise hemodynamics and heart rate responsiveness contribute significantly to the improved functional capacity observed in these patients.

Effects of graded exercise on blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma hormones in cardiac transplant recipients before and during antihypertensive therapy

The effects of graded supine ergometry on blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma hormones were studied in 14 hypertensive heart transplant recipients before and after 2 weeks and 6 months of enalapril (20 mg/day) plus furosemide (20-80 mg/day) alone or combined with verapamil (120-360 mg/day). Each time, measurements were obtained at rest and at 25 and 50 W exercise. Antihypertensive therapy normalized blood pressure, while heart rate and the blood pressure response to exercise remained unaltered. Pretreatment resting plasma renin activity and catecholamine levels were normal, while atrial natriuretic factor and cyclic guanosine monophosphate concentrations were elevated. All hormones increased significantly with exercise. During treatment, plasma renin activity increased and atrial natriuretic factor and cyclic guanosine monophosphate levels decreased significantly, with a blunted exercise response; concentration of catecholamines increased significantly, with augmented exercise response. Thus, the chosen regimen allowed effective, lasting BP control in hypertensive transplant patients but was associated with significant changes in plasma hormones. Whereas the rise in plasma renin activity may be attributed to converting enzyme inhibition, the decreases in atrial natriuretic factor and cyclic guanosine monophosphate and increases in catecholamine levels seem to indicate marked changes in resting and particularly exercise hemodynamics during antihypertensive therapy.

Preserved atrial natriuretic peptide secretory function after cardiac transplantation

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) secretory function is preserved after cardiac transplantation. Thirteen hemodynamically stable outpatients performed supine exercise on a bicycle an average of 7 months after orthotopic cardiac transplantation. Right atrial pressure increased 2.2-fold (6 +/- 1 to 13 +/- 2 mm Hg) and pulmonary artery wedge pressure 2.1-fold (11 +/- 1 to 23 +/- 7 mm Hg) with exercise in the transplant recipients. Resting venous ANP level (114 +/- 19 pg/ml) and peak exercise venous level (373 +/- 61 pg/ml) was elevated in transplant recipients (p less than 0.001) compared with control subjects (21 +/- 1 and 92 +/- 14 pg/ml, respectively. This represents a 3.3-fold (114 +/- 19 to 373 +/- 61 pg/ml) increase in the ANP level from resting to exercise in transplant recipients and a 4.4-fold (21 +/- 1 to 92 +/- 14 pg/ml) increase in control subjects. A correlation between venous ANP levels and hemodynamics (right atrial pressure) was observed r = 0.49 p = 0.01. It is concluded that ANP levels at rest are elevated after cardiac transplant, the levels correlate with the intracardiac hemodynamics, and exercise-induced augmentation of plasma levels occurs.

Evolution of heart rate responsiveness after orthotopic cardiac transplantation

Although anatomic reinnervation of the donor heart is unlikely after transplantation, individual subjects have been noted to show near physiologic heart rate (HR) responses to exercise. To assess development of this phenomenon, we studied HR changes in response to orthostasis and treadmill exercise in 52 orthotopic cardiac transplant recipients grouped according to time after transplantation. In group 1 (2.0 +/- 0.9 months), no significant increase in HR was seen up to 100 cardiac cycles after standing. A maximal acceleration of 4.0 +/- 3.8 beats was seen within 100 cardiac cycles after standing in group 2 (15.8 +/- 5.6 months). Patients in group 3 (42.4 +/- 12.4 months) showed significant cardioacceleration by 5 cardiac cycles after standing to a maximum of 10.7 +/- 5.8 beats/min within the first 100 cardiac cycles. During exercise, HR increased more rapidly during the first minute in group 3 compared with group 1 (p less than 0.01). After exercise, HR continued to increase in group 1 but decreased rapidly in the other groups, most notably group 3 (-26.5 +/- 16.5 by 2 minutes, p less than 0.0001 vs groups 1 and 2). These data indicate development of functional reinnervation after orthotopic heart transplantation. The phenomenon of early acceleration of the HR after orthostasis and rapid deceleration after exercise in transplant recipients implies a local cardiac mechanism rather than response to circulating catecholamines.