Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing Lab
The primary purpose of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is to carefully assess how your lungs, heart, blood vessels and muscles perform during an exercise challenge. Measurement of the amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise along with other indices of heart and lung function provides important information about overall health status and prognosis for specific diseases. CPET is used to define how conditions that effect heart, lung, blood vessel or muscle function contribute to exercise intolerance.
Exercise Options for Your Test
The type of exercise used during your test is chosen based on your overall health, fitness level, age, weight and doctor’s recommendation. Your comfort and safety are always considered. Exercise options may include riding a stationary bicycle or walking on a treadmill.
Reasons for Testing
- Detection of suspected cardiopulmonary disease and/or severity of disease
- Evaluation for advanced heart failure treatment (LVAD, heart transplant)
- Cardiac disease
- Myocardial ischemia
- Cardiac rhythm/rate evaluation
- Blood pressure response
- Pulmonary disease
- Symptomatic exercise
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Assessing physical fitness
- Charting course of progressive disease or evaluating treatment
- Assessing success of rehabilitation program/surgical conditions
