CO2 pulse and acid-base status during increasing work rate exercise in health and disease.

The CO2 pulse (VCO2/heart rate), analogous to the O2 pulse (VO2/heart rate), was calculated during cardiopulmonary exercise testing and evaluated in normal and diseased states. Our aim was to define its application in its release in excess of that from VCO2/heart rate in the presence of impaired cardiovascular and lung function. In the current study, forty-five patients were divided into six physiological states: normal, exercise-induced myocardial ischemia, chronic heart failure, pulmonary vasculopathy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and interstitial lung disease. We subtracted the O2 pulse from the CO2 pulse to determine the exhaled CO2 that could be attributed to CO2 pulse of buffering of lactic acid. The difference between the CO2 pulse and O2 pulse (VCO2/heart rate-VO2/heart rate) includes CO2 generated from HCO3(-) buffering of lactic acid. The accumulated CO2 per body mass was found to be significantly correlated with the corresponding [HCO3(-)] decrease (R(2)=0.72; P<0.0001). In summary, the increase in CO2 pulse over the O2 pulse accounted for the anaerobically-generated excess-CO2 in each of the physiological states and correlated with the decreases in the arterial Bicarbonate concentration.

Ventilatory regulation of arterial H(+) (pH) during exercise.

We hypothesized that exercise ventilation and arterial H(+) ([H(+)]a) are mutually interactive, [H(+)]a stimulating V(E) and V(E) regulating [H(+)]a increase. Fifty-five patients were studied, 10 normal and 45 with cardio-respiratory disorders. Each patient underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing with simultaneous serial arterial blood gas and pH measurements. Subsequently, they were classified into one of 7 clinical groups: (1) normal, (2) exercise-induced hypoxemia (PaO2<50mmHg), (3) exercise-induced myocardial ischemia, (4) heart failure, (5) COPD, (6) interstitial lung disease, and (7) pulmonary vasculopathy. The average resting pHa was 7.42 or 7.43 for each group. At anaerobic (lactic acidosis) threshold (AT), [H(+)]a increased due to PaCO2 increase (+2mmHg), primarily. At peak exercise, [H(+)]a increased further due to arterial HCO3(-) decrease. In summary, [H(+)]a appears to be closely regulated at rest to AT and further to peak exercise by CO2 elimination from the venous return. No evidence was observed for over-ventilation of CO2, causing the arterial blood to become more alkaline during exercise in the patient groups studied.