Dysregulation of ventilation at day and night time in heart failure

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) is characterized by an increase in ventilatory response to exercise of multifactorial aetiology and by a dysregulation in the ventilatory control during sleep with the occurrence of both central and obstructive apnoeas. In this setting, the study of the ventilatory behaviour during exercise, by cardiopulmonary exercise testing, or during sleep, by complete polysomnography or simplified nocturnal cardiorespiratory monitoring, is of paramount importance because of its prognostic value and of the possible effects of sleep-disordered breathing on the progression of the disease. Moreover, several therapeutic interventions can significantly influence ventilatory control in HF. Also, rest daytime monitoring of cardiac, metabolic, and respiratory activities through specific wearable devices could provide useful information for HF management. The aim of the review is to summarize the main studies conducted at Centro Cardiologico Monzino on these topics.

Keywords: Y-axis intercept; Anaerobic threshold; Exercise; HF; PetCO2; Sleep apnoea; VE/VCO2 slope; Ventilation.