Aspirin worsens exercise performance and pulmonary gas exchange in patients with heart failure who are taking angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors

Pulmonary function abnormalities participate in causing exercise disability in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Impaired pulmonary gas transfer is one of these abnormalities. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors improve diffusion for carbon monoxide and exercise capacity, an effect that is seemingly mediated through prostaglandin activation because it is inhibited by cyclooxygenase blockade with aspirin. This suggests the possibility that aspirin may disturb the pulmonary function and exercise ability in CHF, at least in those patients who are taking ACE inhibitors. This study was aimed at probing this hypothesis.