Acute Effects of Carbon Monoxide Exposure on Individuals with Coronary Artery Disease

This report from the HEI Multicenter CO Study examined the effect of carbon monoxide (CO) exposure of male human participants with coronary artery disease, with a particular focus on myocardial ischemia onset during exercise. The participants were exposed to air or to CO concentrations sufficient to elevate blood carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels to 2% or 4% during exercise. The primary health endpoints examined were the time to onset of exercise-induced angina, and the time to a predefined ST-segment change. Results were analyzed to determine whether CO exposure changed the time to onset of myocardial ischemia during exercise, as indicated by the health endpoints measured.