Effect of a slow ramp rate on exercise testing: a healthy volunteer study

Abstract

Ramp rates for incremental ramp rate exercise testing are not fully standardised. The ramp rate may influence the values obtained during exercise testing. We compared a slow ramp rate (SR) (3watts/minute) to a fast ramp rate (FR) (20 watts/minute) in 8 fit non elite cyclists using cycle ergometry. We measured peak power ,oxygen consumption (VO2) at anaerobic threshold (AT) and maximumaerobic capacity (VO2 max). A lower mean peak work (369Watts vs 406 Watts, P=0.004), higher mean AT (42.1 ml/min/kg vs 38.6 ml/min/kg, p=0.16) , lower mean VO2 max (51.7 ml/min/kg vs 54 ml/min/kg p=0.25) and higher ratio of AT to VO2 max (0.82 vs 0.71 p = 0.03) were obtained using the SR protocol. These results suggest that ramp protocols need to be considered when interpreting exercise tests clinically. We suggest that further research is required to allow better standardising of ramp test protocols.