Table 1.
Patient characteristics and hemodynamic parameters.
| WHO functional class | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | II | III | IV | |
| n | 9 | 162 | 592 | 132 |
| Sex male/female % | 44/56 | 46/54 | 38/62 | 37/63 |
| Age years | 51 ± 13 | 56 ± 16 | 61 ± 16* | 64 ± 16 |
| BMI kg/m2 | 28.2 ± 4.7 | 28.0 ± 6.1 | 27.7 ± 6.2 | 27.1 ± 6.6 |
| Smoking % Never/Ex/Current | 43/57/0 | 48/44/8 | 38/51/12 | 36/57/7 |
| Pack years | 10 ± 16 | 12 ± 19 | 17 ± 20 | 25 ± 30† |
| Oxygen therapy % None/LTOT/Other | 100/0/0 | 89/6/5 | 62/32/7 | 26/68/6 |
| HEMODYNAMICS | ||||
| mRAP mmHg | 8(8) | 8(7) | 9(8) | 12(8)† |
| mPAP mmHg | 31(20) | 37(16) | 45(17) | 47(12) |
| sPAP mmHg | 51(38) | 58(25) | 74(29) | 75(24) |
| Wedge mmHg | 16 ± 9 | 13 ± 6 | 12 ± 6 | 11 ± 5 |
| CI L/min/m2 | 3.4 ± 1.8 | 3.1 ± 0.8 | 2.7 ± 0.8* | 2.1 ± 0.6† |
| PVR Wood Unit | 2.1(8.2) | 3.6(3.8) | 7.0(6.9)* | 11.5(6.8)† |
| SmvO2 % | 67 ± 6 | 67 ± 7 | 63 ± 9* | 58 ± 9† |
| ISWT | ||||
| ISWD m | 450(150) | 280(258)▴ | 120(140)* | 10(58)† |
| ISWD%pred | 65(20) | 42(28)▴ | 20(21)* | 3(9) † |
| ISWD Z score | −1.77 ± 1.05 | −2.36 ± 1.36▴ | −3.11 ± 1.14* | −3.48 ± 1.10† |
| Starting SaO2 % | 96.7 ± 2.1 | 93.8 ± 4.2▴ | 91.0 ± 6.3* | 85.0† |
| Lowest SaO2 % | 84.2 ± 10.5 | 83.4 ± 11.0 | 82.6 ± 11.2 | 79.1 ± 11.6† |
| Starting HR bpm | 85. ± 14 | 82 ± 17 | 83 ± 17 | 85 ± 18 |
| Highest HR bpm | 144 ± 37 | 125 ± 30 | 114 ± 23* | 110 ± 23 |
| Resting SBP mmHg | 125 ± 25 | 131 ± 22 | 127 ± 20* | 117 ± 19† |
| Highest SBP mmHg | 159 ± 11 | 158 ± 25 | 145 ± 27* | 128 ± 24† |
| Borg dyspnea score | ||||
| Pre-test | 0.6 ± 0.7 | 0.7 ± 1.0 | 1.1 ± 1.3* | 1.8 ± 1.4† |
| Post-test | 3.8 ± 1.6 | 4.2 ± 1.9 | 4.3 ± 1.9 | 4.7 ± 2.0† |
| LUNG FUNCTION | ||||
| FEV1%pred | 97 ± 14 | 75 ± 23▴ | 74 ± 21 | 67 ± 23† |
| FVC%pred | 103 ± 17 | 87 ± 23 | 87 ± 23 | 81 ± 27 |
| DLco mmol/min/kPa | 7.6 ± 3.2 | 5.6 ± 2.2▴ | 4.3 ± 2.0* | 2.9 ± 1.7† |
| DLco%pred | 99 ± 40 | 72 ± 24▴ | 59 ± 22* | 41 ± 21† |
| DLco Z score | −0.57 ± 3.43 | −2.22 ± 1.96▴ | −3.45 ± 2.37* | −5.69 ± 3.10† |
Presented as mean ± SD for parametric data and median(interquartile range) for nonparametric data. Categorical variables were presented as %. ISWT, incremental shuttle walk test; WHO FC, World Health Organisation functional class; BMI, body mass index; mRAP, mean right atrial pressure; mPAP, mean pulmonary arterial pressure; sPAP, systolic pulmonary arterial pressure; CI, cardiac index; PVR, pulmonary vascular resistance; SmvO2, mixed venous oxygen saturation; ISWD, incremental shuttle walk test distance; %pred: percent predicted; SaO2, oxygen saturation; HR, heart rate; SBP, systolic blood pressure; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC, forced vital capacity; DLco, diffusion factor across the lung for carbon monoxide; z score, standardized score; ▴p < 0.05 WHO FC I vs. WHO FC II;
p < 0.05 WHO FC II vs. WHO FC III;
p < 0.05 WHO FC III vs. WHO FC IV.