ERGOSPIROMETRY

Ergospirometry (cardiopulmonary exercise testing) provides an assessment of integrative exercise responses involving pulmonary, cardiovascular, neuropsychological, and skeletal muscle systems, which are not adequately reflected through the measurement of individual organ system functions.

Ergospirometry is increasingly used in a wide range of clinical applications for the evaluation of undiagnosed exercise intolerance and for the objective determination of functional capacity and impairment to aerobic ability. Its use in patient management suggests that resting pulmonary and cardiac function testing cannot reliably predict exercise performance and functional capacity, and that overall health status correlates better with exercise tolerance than with resting measurements. Ergospirometry involves measurements of respiratory oxygen uptake (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), and ventilation during a symptom-limited exercise test.