Exercise Oscillatory Breathing and Sildenafil in Heart Failure

Summary

Exercise oscillatory breathing (EOB) is a ventilatory abnormality that occurs in approximately 20% of heart failure (HF) patients and carries a very unfavourable prognosis. Pathophysiology seems quite complex and putative mechanisms include increased pulmonary capillary pressure and pulmonary vasoconstriction, circulatory blood-flow fluctuations in the pulmonary arterial system and instability of ventilatory control. Inhibition of the phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) isoenzyme favourably regulates pulmonary vascular tone and permeability through over signaling of the endothelial nitric oxide pathway. The investigators tested the hypothesis that sildenafil would reverse the EOB pattern in patients with HF and pulmonary hypertension.

Timeline

Start

2008-04

Primary completion

2009-12

Completion

2010-06

Drugs

Indications