Age- and sex-stratified normal values for circulatory and ventilatory power during ramp exercise derived from a healthy Japanese population

Circulatory power (CP) and ventilatory power (VP), obtained by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX), have been suggested to be excellent prognostic markers for heart failure. However, the normal values of these parameters in healthy Japanese populations remain unknown; thus, we aimed to investigate these values in such a population. A total of 391 healthy Japanese participants, 20–78 years of age, underwent CPX with a cycle ergometer with ramp protocols. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate, oxygen uptake ( V ˙ O 2 ) at peak exercise, and the slope of minute ventilation ( V ˙ E) versus carbon dioxide ( V ˙ CO 2 ) ( V ˙ E vs. V ˙ CO 2 slope) were measured. CP was calculated by multiplying the peak V ˙ O 2 and SBP values, and VP was calculated by dividing the peak SBP value by the V ˙ E versus V ˙ CO 2 slope. For males and females, the average CP values were 6119 ± 1280 (mean ± standard deviation) and 4775 ± 914 mmHg·mL/min/kg, respectively ( p