European Practicum on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing

Dear colleagues,

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is one of the most fascinating clinical and scientific tools of medicine!

It is used in various fields of internal medicine for the quantification of exercise intolerance, for a differential diagnosis of unexplained dyspnea, for risk stratification / pre-operative risk assessment, and for monitoring of therapeutic response. The correct interpretation of CPET is, however, highly challenging and requires knowledge from the fields of physiology, pneumology, cardiology and sports medicine.

This three-day course, organized by CPX International, is intended to give a comprehensive overview of the physiological basis of exercise performance, the link between metabolic and hemodynamic changes during exercise and the clinical applications of CPET, and to provide practical, case-based learning. In order to promote research in the field of exercise testing three Prizes will be awarded to Young Investigators for outstanding abstracts. As special focus of this years’ program, we aim to present the actual role of CPET in the management of pulmonary and pulmonary vascular diseases. An experienced faculty of internationally-recognized experts in CPET will lead through the course, lab session and tutorials, and be available for questions and discussion. All levels of CPET experience from novice to expert are accommodated. The course includes live demonstrations of cardiopulmonary exercise tests with different protocols, and several interactive tutorials in small groups. Participants are assigned to laboratory groups and tutorials according to experience and specialty interest, and will be able to familiarize themselves with the equipment and methodology involved in CPET.

We are very proud that the course takes place in Austria for the first time where it will be organized under the patronage of the Austrian Society of Pneumology, the Medical University of Graz and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Lung Vascular Research.

We cordially invite you to join the 23rd European practicum on cardiopulmonary exercise testing and welcome you to the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage City of Graz.

Gabor Kovacs (Course chair) and Pierguiseppe Agostoni (President CPXI)

- on behalf of the organizers -