An Evaluation of Cardiorespiratory Performance During Exercise and the Effects of Physical Training in Asthma

Cochrane, Lorna Maeve (1991) An Evaluation of Cardiorespiratory Performance During Exercise and the Effects of Physical Training in Asthma. MD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

PART 1. There is a lack of objective information regarding work performance in asthma. A progressive incremental exercise test was carried out on 44 young adults aged 16 to 40 years with mild to moderate asthma and 64 normal healthy subjects matched for habitual activity, to compare cardiorespiratory fitness and to determine the relative contribution of airflow obstruction to exercise limitation. The two groups achieved similar maximum heart rates (as % predicted). After allowing for confounding factors the asthmatic subjects had a lower VO2 max (by 199 ml min-1 p<0.001) than control subjects. Asthmatic status also accounted for a reduction in anaerobic threshold (125 ml min-1 p<0.001) and oxygen pulse (0.805 ml beat-1 p<0.001). There was no correlation of pre- or post-bronchodilator FEV1 with VO2 max, anaerobic threshold or oxygen pulse. Dyspnoea index (VE/MVV%) was increased in the asthmatic subjects at peak exercise, but was less than 60% in all but one of the subjects at a workload producing 75% predicted maximum heart rate, this indicating respiratory capacity for increased exercise. Thus the asthmatic subjects had a similar maximum heart rate to normal subjects but the low VO2 max, anaerobic threshold and oxygen pulse suggest suboptimal fitness which was not directly due to airflow obstruction. All but one subject had sufficient ventilatory reserve to allow toleration of training at an adequate work intensity to permit improvements in cardiovascular fitness.

• Item Type: Thesis (MD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Medicine, Kinesiology
• Date of Award: 1991
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1991-77277
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jan 2020 11:53
• Last Modified: 14 Jan 2020 11:53
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/77277