Measurement of maximum oxygen uptake is of value in the selection of patients for cardiac transplantation

Analysis of deaths in patients awaiting heart transplantation: impact on patient selection criteria.

“…The variable which has drawn most attention is the peak Vo2.1 [5][6][7][8][9][10] Although values of 10, 9 11,8 12,7 14,6 and 2010 have all been proposed as useful dichotomisation points to identify high or low risk subsets, the value most widely accepted derives from the observation by ourselves5 and by Mancini et a?6 that patients with peak Vo2 greater than 14 ml/kg/min were a relatively good prognosis group in whom heart transplantation could be deferred. In the Task Force 3 report, a Vo2 less than 14 ml/kg/min is given as a probable indication for heart transplantation, although the report did not go so far as to include this figure in its recommendations.…”