One of the key criteria used to determine when a heart failure patient may need a heart transplant is the peak oxygen consumption (VO2) during an exercise test. However, the standard values that are currently in use may not accurately predict the outcomes for female patients. These are what has been found in a new study published in the June 6, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

"There is some fundamental difference between the genders and we have to be sensitive to that," said Andrew Kao, M.D., F.A.C.C. Dr. Kao was at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia at the time of this study. He is now with Cardiovascular Consultants, PA, which manages the Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri.

If a patient who is working hard on the treadmill is consuming less than about 12 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min), then the odds of long-term survival may be poor and it is generally thought to be appropriate to consider heart transplantation, Dr. Kao said.

While peak oxygen consumption (VO2) is a powerful and reliable predictor of survival in patients with advanced heart failure, the VO2 standards are based on the experiences of patients who were almost all men.

Read more at EurekAlert.