Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, based on participation in cardiac rehabilitation
| Non-CR group | CR group | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients (n) | 24 | 17 | |
| Age (years, range) | 66±10 (49–85) | 70±7 (53–82) | 0.16 |
| Sex (female/male) | 20/4 | 10/7 | 0.08# |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 22.4±3.8 | 22.2±3.3 | 0.85 |
| WHO-FC (I/II/III/IV) | 1/21/2/0 | 0/14/3/0 | 0.26## |
| Patients previously treated with PEA (n, %) | 3 (13) | 1 (6) | 0.48# |
| Disease duration before the first BPA (months) | 66 (29–127) | 53 (20–86) | 0.23## |
| Pulmonary hypertension-specific therapy (n, %) | 15 (63) | 10 (59) | 0.81# |
| 6-min walk distance (m) | 468±102 | 498±96 | 0.34 |
| Brain natriuretic peptide level (pg/mL) | 28 (16–39) | 22 (15–41) | 0.56## |
| Haemodynamic data | |||
| Mean PAP (mm Hg) | 24.9±4.9 | 24.5±6.4 | 0.80 |
| Mean RAP (mm Hg) | 1.5 (0.0–3.0) | 1.0 (0.5–2.0) | 0.17## |
| Cardiac index (L/min/m2) | 2.54±0.53 | 2.62±0.50 | 0.63 |
| TPR (dyne.s/cm5) | 544±189 | 507±178 | 0.53 |
| CPX parameters | n=22 | n=17 | |
| Peak work load (W) | 81±19 | 85±23 | 0.53 |
| Peak VO2 (mL/min/kg) | 17.8±2.6 | 17.4±2.6 | 0.61 |
| Peak VO2% predicted (%) | 69.7±12.3 | 70.7±9.4 | 0.78 |
| VE-VCO2 slope | 37.6±6.8 | 42.1±10.2 | 0.11 |
Results are expressed as mean±SD or median (25% and 75% centile) unless otherwise indicated.
p Values from #χ2 tests, ##the Mann–Whitney U test, or otherwise t tests.
BPA, balloon pulmonary angioplasty; CPX, cardiopulmonary exercise testing; CR, cardiac rehabilitation; PAP, pulmonary arterial pressure; PEA, pulmonary endarterectomy; RAP, right atrial pressure; TPR, total pulmonary resistance; VCO2, carbon dioxide production; VO2, oxygen uptake; VE, minute ventilation; WHO-FC, WHO functional class.