Background: Data on the evolution of exercise capacity in adults with repaired coarctation of the aorta (CoA) are scarce. We aimed to investigate the evolution and change of measures of exercise capacity obtained by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in adults with repaired CoA.
Methods: Patients 16 years of age and older with CoA, who performed at least two maximal CPETs in our institution, were included in the study. The first and last available tests were used for comparative statistical analysis of common exercise variables.
Results: Sixty patients (43 men) performed serial maximal CPET. Mean age at first assessment was 30 ± 10 years (range 17-68). Mean time between first and last assessment was 3.5 years (range 1-7). Mean peak VO2 was 85.6 ± 20.4% of the predicted value at the initial test, and 87.0 ± 20.5% at the final test (p = 0.294). There were no significant differences in the mean values of oxygen pulse, VO2 at anaerobic threshold, systolic and diastolic blood pressures and peak heart rate between the two assessments. There was a slightly higher VE/VCO2 slope at the final test (p = 0.047). Higher age and Borg scale were found to be related with a decline in percent-predicted peak VO2 from initial to final assessment.
Conclusion: In adults with repaired CoA, we found no significant change in peak VO2 during a mean follow-up of 3.5 years, yet a small increase in VE/VCO2 slope was observed. Higher age was predictive for a decline in percent-predicted peak VO2, starting in the third decade of life.
Keywords: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing; coarctation of the aorta; exercise capacity; peak oxygen uptake; short-term follow-up.