A legs-up test has been performed on a 87-year old patient, suffering from heart failure for 27 years after heart infarction.
This heavily treated patient was doing quite well at rest, with a stroke volume of 55 ml and cardiac index of 2.5 l/min/m².
A legs up maneuver resulted in a dramatic drop in stroke volume. It shows that the heart is unable to cope with an additional amount of fluid, which is a sign of severe heart failure.