Alternative diagnostic strategies for coronary artery disease in women: demonstration of the usefulness and efficiency of probability analysis.

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Abstract
Alternative strategies using conditional probability analysis for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) were examined in 93 infarct-free women presenting with chest pain. Another group of 42 consecutive female patients was prospectively analyzed. For this latter group, the physician had access to the pretest and posttest probability of CAD before coronary angiography. These 135 women all underwent stress electrocardiographic, thallium scintigraphic, and coronary angiographic examination. The pretest and posttest probabilities of coronary disease were derived from a computerized Bayesian algorithm. Probability estimates were calculated by the four following hypothetical strategies: SO, in which history, including risk factors, was considered; S1, in which history and stress electrocardiographic results were considered; S2, in which history and stress electrocardiographic and stress thallium scintigraphic results were considered; and S3, in which history and stress electrocardiographic results were...