Reduced exercise capacity in patients with systemic sclerosis is associated with lower peak tissue oxygen extraction: a cardiovascular magnetic resonance-augmented cardiopulmonary exercise study.

Reduced peak oxygen consumption in SSc patients is predominantly driven by reduced oxygen content gradient and in SSc-PAH patients this was amplified by reduced peak cardiac output. Trial registration The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration and Results System (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: 100358).