Effect of A Slow Ramp Rate on Exercise Testing: A Healthy Volunteer Study-Juniper Publishers
Authored by Julian Martin Brown Introduction Submaximal exercise testing is now used routinely to assess fitness for surgery. The anaerobic threshold determined by expired gas analysis during ramped exercise predicts surgical morbidity and mortality [1]. Cycle ergometry with a ramped protocol is typically used but there is little standardisation of protocols. A comparison between 20,30,50 and 100 watts per minute increments [2] showed no difference in anaerobic threshold and VO2 max but lower ramp increments were not tested. In another study comparing 10,30 and 50 watts per minute anaerobic threshold was unchanged but “VO2 peak” was reduced with a 10 watts per minute protocol [3]. Using a running treadmill test V Vucetić et al. [4] showed differences in peak running speed using different ramp rates but no difference in VO2max or AT. Ramp rates of 6 watts per minute and 12 watts per minute have been compared using arm crank ergometry, yielding higher end exercise la...