Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Disease Phenotypes Using Upright Invasive Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing

Patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease (CTEPD) without resting pulmonary hypertension (PH) frequently experience dyspnea which is not explained by stationary assessment and therefore requires cardiopulmonary exercise testing for further diagnostic insight. Ventilatory inefficiency in CTEPD is commonly identified; however, consensus definitions are lacking. Upright iCPET and careful definition of ventilatory inefficiency (i.e., lack of reduction in VD/VT with exercise) may allow optimal characterization of patients with chronic thromboembolic disease and specifically helps correctly identify patients with preload insufficiency who may otherwise be misclassified or undiagnosed.