Human study · Exercise · 14 Nov 2026
In 50 adults during right-heart catheterization, cycle ergometry moved pressures more than a single-arm protocol
Source: BMC Pulmonary Medicine
What the research found
A prospective observational study was published online on 14 November 2026. 50 consecutive patients referred for right-heart catheterization did cycle ergometry and dynamic single-arm exercise in random order, with a rest between them. The abstract does not give age or sex. Cycle work was fixed between 10 and 50 watts. Arm intensity was chosen by the patient. Mean pulmonary artery pressure rose 12 mmHg with cycling and 3 mmHg with the arm protocol (p<0.001). Wedge pressure rose 5 mmHg versus 2 mmHg (p<0.001). Cardiac output rose 2.2 L/min versus 0.6 L/min (p<0.001). Estimated oxygen uptake during the arm protocol reached 24 percent of the rise seen with cycling, about a 6 watt equivalent. Among people without pulmonary hypertension at rest, cycling met the exercise pulmonary hypertension slope in 5 people. The arm protocol did not. No one crossed a wedge-pressure line of 25 mmHg. The authors say this arm protocol is not an adequate substitute. DOI 10.1186/s12890-026-04848-1. Not medical advice.
Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.
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