Limited Exercise Testing Soon After Myocardial Infarction

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Patients (48) within 3 wk of myocardial infarction underwent both limited treadmill graded exercise testing and coronary and left ventricular angiography. Of 21 patients with positive exercise tests (.gtoreq. 1 mm ST depression, angina, or both), 19 (90%) had multivessel coronary artery disease. In the 27 patients with negative exercise test results, 15 (55%) had multivessel disease, 11 (41%) had single-vessel disease and 1 (4%) had no coronary stenosis. Exercise-induced ST segment elevation occurred in 24 patients and predicted a significantly lower ejection fraction and higher angiographic abnormality contracting segment size. Patients experiencing angina during or after exercise had a significantly shorter 2-yr survival (54% .+-. 21%) than patients without exercise-induced angina (97% .+-. 3%) (P < 0.03). Limited exercise testing postinfarction is useful in evaluating the presence of multivessel coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction and in predicting long-term survival.