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Measurements of cardiac output in maximum exercise. Application of an acetylene rebreathing method to arm and leg exercise

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Summary

An acetylene rebreathing technique suitable for the measurement of cardiac output in maximum exercise is described; results have a coefficient of variation of 2.9–3.6%, and show good agreement with observations made by other methods during arm and leg work. Gas samples are analysed by gas chromatograph, using silica gel and molecular sieve/glass columns. Recirculation of the foreign gas is avoided by collection of the final gas sample after 7 sec of rebreathing. Allowance is also made for other systematic errors, including the dead space of the sampling needles and solution of gas in the lung parenchyma.

Arm work has a similar oxygen cost to leg work if extraneous movements are avoided; however, the maximal attainable oxygen intake is less in arm exercise (28% in 5 young men). The heart rate in sub-maximum effort is 36–39 beats/min greater for arm work; however, the maximum heart rate is unchanged. The cardiac stroke volume is 25% smaller for both sub-maximum and maximum arm work, while the arterio-venous oxygen difference is slightly greater than in leg work.

Both stroke volume and arterio-venous difference increase somewhat between 60 and 100% of aerobic power, but the main burden of increasing oxygen transport is accepted by the increase in heart rate.

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  1. Department of Physiological Hygiene, School of Hygiene, University of Toronto, Canada

    R. Simmons & Roy J. Shephard

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Simmons, R., Shephard, R.J. Measurements of cardiac output in maximum exercise. Application of an acetylene rebreathing method to arm and leg exercise. Int. Z. Angew. Physiol. Einschl. Arbeitsphysiol. 29, 159–172 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00698024

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