Endothelial progenitor cells mobilization after maximal exercise according to heart failure severity

Table 1 Demographic characteristics and maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing indices of patients with chronic heart failure of different severity based on peak oxygen uptake

Demographic characteristics	Group 1	Group 2
Patients, n	25	24
Gender, males/females	21/4	20/4
Age in yr1	57 ± 10	55 ± 9
Height in cm1	174 ± 11	175 ± 9
Weight in kg1	92 ± 25	87 ± 21
NYHA stage, class II/III	16/9	18/6
EF, %1	32 ± 9	32 ± 8
Type of CHF
Dilated cardiomyopathy, n (%)	7 (28)	5 (21)
Ischemic, n (%)	14 (56)	15 (63)
Other, i.e. valvulopathy, etc., n (%)	4 (16)	4 (17)
Medication
Diuretics, n (%)	19 (76)	13 (54)
ACE inhibitors, n (%)	11 (44)	13 (54)
ARBs, n (%)	5 (20)	2 (8)
β-Blockers, n (%)	25 (100)	23 (96)
Aldosterone antagonists, n (%)	19 (76)	18 (75)
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters
Peak VO2 in mL/kg/min1	14.5 ± 2.5	21.8 ± 2.4a
Predicted peak VO2, %1	52 ± 13	74 ± 11a
VE/VCO2 slope1	34 ± 5	33 ± 4
Peak WR in watts1	75 ± 34	118 ± 34a

Group 1: Peak VO₂ < 18.0 mL/kg/min, Group 2: Peak VO₂ ≥ 18.0 mL/kg/min.

¹Values are expressed as mean ± SD; Difference between the 2 severity groups for demographic characteristics and cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters (^aP < 0.05). ACE: Angiotensin-converting-enzyme; ARB: Angiotensin II receptor blockers; CPET: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing; CHF: Chronic heart failure; EF: Ejection fraction; NYHA: New York Heart Association; VCO₂: Carbon dioxide output; VO₂: Oxygen uptake; WR: Work rate.