[Status of several types of tissue metabolism at rest and during functional tests in patients in the initial stage of heart failure].

A series of 217 patients with chronic coronary heart disease at an early stage of heart failure were examined. A comprehensive examination of the cardiovascular system and tissue metabolism makes it possible to diagnose cardiac failure at an early stage. Additional diagnostic signs of an early stage of heart failure were shown to include arteriolar hypoxemia, venous hyperoxia, a reduction in the arteriovenous difference with relation to oxygen and in tissue oxygen utilization which increased following a hydrostatic test, as well as an excessive accumulation of blood lactate and manifestations of disordered acid-base balance.