A basic approach to the interpretation of the exercise test.

To interpret the exercise test, the following parameters need to be evaluated: the heart rate and blood pressure response, symptoms, dysrhythmias, aerobic capacity, and evidence for myocardial ischemia. When analyzing the ST segment for ischemia, the amount and type of ST depression and the time of onset and resolution are examined. The exercise test results are best used to determine a post-test probability that the patient has significant coronary disease, predict its severity, and provide a prognosis of the patient. The test allows primary care physicians to decide which patients with coronary artery disease can be safely managed medically and which high-risk patients need further evaluation and consideration for revascularization.

The time has come to reexamine the gold standard when evaluating noninvasive testing.

Angiographically identified 50% cross-sectional narrowing of a coronary artery fails to accurately identify compromised myocardial perfusion. Noninvasive tests should be correlated with intravascular ultrasound or coronary flow reserve to determine their clinical utility.

The utility of four biochemical markers in the triage of chest pain patients.

Four biochemical markers, creatine kinase (CK)-MB isoenzyme, myoglobin, myosin light chains and troponin I, were studied in 1,338 patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain suggestive of coronary artery disease (CAD). One hundred and eighty-seven patients had an acute myocardial infarction (MI). At least one of the four markers was over the threshold on the first sample in 78% of MI patients, as compared to only 40% with an elevated CK-MB. After 4 h, 88% had at least one marker elevated. None of the 69 patients with atypical chest pain, no history of CAD, no markers over threshold on the first sample and a normal electrocardiogram had an acute MI or unstable angina. If we had discharged this group, we would have saved USD 264,000, estimating a cost of USD 2,000 per day. Using four biochemical markers improved the early diagnosis of CAD and may help identify groups suitable for early discharge.

Underuse and overuse of diagnostic testing for coronary artery disease in patients presenting with new-onset chest pain.

PURPOSE: To determine the extent of overuse and underuse of diagnostic testing for coronary artery disease and whether the socioeconomic status, health insurance, gender, and race/ethnicity of a patient influences the use of diagnostic tests. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We identified patients who presented with new-onset chest pain not due to myocardial infarction at one of five Los Angeles-area hospital emergency departments between October 1994 and April 1996. Explicit criteria for diagnostic testing were developed using the RAND/University of California, Los Angeles, expert panel method. They were applied to data collected by medical record review and patient questionnaire. RESULTS: Of the 356 patients, 181 met necessity criteria for diagnostic cardiac testing. Of these, 40 (22%) failed to receive necessary tests. Only 7 (3%) of the 215 patients who received some form of cardiac testing had tests that were judged to be inappropriate. Underuse was significantly more common in patients with only a high school education (30% vs 15% for those with some college, P = 0.02) and those without health insurance (34% vs 15% of insured patients, P = 0.01). In a multivariate logistic regression model, only the lack of a post-high school education was a significant predictor of underuse (odds ratio 2.2, 95% confidence interval 1.0 to 4.4). CONCLUSION: Among patients with new-onset chest pain, underuse of diagnostic testing for coronary artery disease was much more common than overuse. Underuse was primarily associated with lower levels of patient education.

Significance of ST-segment depression with R-wave amplitude decrease on exercise testing.

A retrospective evaluation was performed of patients who underwent exercise tests and angiography and 50 ambulatory normal subjects who underwent only exercise testing. We found that when deltaST depression of 0.5 mm was combined with deltaR-wave decrease of 1 mm, the sensitivity and specificity were improved.

Hyperbaric oxygen and thrombolysis in myocardial infarction: the 'HOT MI' randomized multicenter study.

In a previous pilot study, we demonstrated that adjunctive treatment with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) appears to be feasible and safe in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and may result in an attenuated rise in creatine phosphokinase (CPK), more rapid resolution of pain and ST changes. This randomized multicenter trial was organized to further assess the safety and feasibility of this treatment in human subjects. Patients with an AMI treated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rTPA) or streptokinase (STK), were randomized to treatment with HBO combined with either rTPA or STK, or rTPA or STK alone. An analysis included 112 patients, 66 of whom had inferior AMIs (p = NS). The remainder of the patients had anterior AMIs. The mean CPK at 12 and 24 h was reduced in the HBO patients by approximately 7.5% (p = NS). Time to pain relief was shorter in the HBO group. There were 2 deaths in the control and 1 in those treated with HBO. The left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) on discharge was 51.7% in the HBO group as compared to 48.4% in the controls (p = NS). The LVEF of the controls was 43.4 as compared to 47.6 for those treated, approximately 10% better (no significant difference). Treatment with HBO in combination with thrombolysis appears to be feasible and safe for patients with AMI and may result in an attenuated CPK rise, more rapid resolution of pain and improved ejection fractions. More studies are needed to assess the benefits of this treatment.

Detecting exercise-induced ischemia in left bundle branch block using the electrocardiogram.

We compared 12-lead electrocardiographic changes during exercise in 41 patients with left bundle branch block; 7 were nonischemic and 34 had coronary artery obstruction > or =70% as detected by angiogram. ST depression of > or =0.5 mm from baseline when measured at the J point in leads II and AVF (p=0.004) and an increase of R-wave amplitude in lead II (p=0.05) significantly identified ischemia.

Hyperbaric oxygen and thrombolysis in myocardial infarction: the "HOT MI" pilot study.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBO) in combination with thrombolysis has been demonstrated to salvage myocardium in acute myocardial infarction in the animal model. Therefore a randomized pilot trial was undertaken to assess the safety and feasibility of this treatment in human beings. Patients with an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) who received recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rTPA) were randomized to treatment with HBO combined with rTPA or rTPA alone. Sixty-six patients were included for analysis. Forty-three patients had inferior AMIs (difference not significant) and the remainder had anterior AMIs. The mean creatine phosphokinase level at 12 and 24 hours was reduced in the patients given HBO by approximately 35% (p = 0.03). Time to pain relief and ST segment resolution was shorter in the group given HBO. There were two deaths in the control group and none in those treated with HBO. The ejection fraction on discharge was 52.4% in the group given HBO compared with 47.3% in the control group (difference not significant). Adjunctive treatment with HBO appears to be a feasible and safe treatment for AMI and may result in an attenuated rise in creatine phosphokinase levels and more rapid resolution of pain and ST segment changes.

Time course of changes in P-wave duration during exercise.

The exercise-induced increase in P-wave duration reported previously has not been studied on a minute-by-minute basis. We measured the P duration in 47 normal subjects and 43 coronary artery disease (CAD) patients each minute during an exercise test. We found that prolongation of the P wave in those with CAD occurs relatively early and the difference between normal subjects and CAD patients is greater near maximum exercise. The data suggest that an increase in P-wave duration may reflect an increase in the left-ventricular end-diastolic pressure and may occur earlier that ST-segment depression.

Electrocardiographic evidence of ischemia during ventricular paced rhythms.

Exercise-induced electrocardiographic (ECG) changes are the most widely recognized noninvasive means for detecting myocardial ischemia. The specificity of these changes depends on the normalcy of the resting ECG. Right ventricular pacing produces major QRS and ST-T changes very similar to those of complete left bundle-branch block. They alter the resting ECG such that ischemic changes are considerably difficult to detect. Because of these resting abnormalities, ECG changes during treadmill exercise testing usually do not facilitate the diagnosis of ischemia or coronary artery disease. The following are two cases of ischemic ECG changes that occurred during right ventricular pacing. To our knowledge, there have been no reports of the classic ECG changes of ST-segment depression suggestive of ischemia which occurred during right ventricular pacing and which were discernible from the resting ECG changes.

Significance of precordial T-wave increase during treadmill stress testing.

It appears that a T-wave amplitude increase of > or = 2.5 mm in lead V2 during a treadmill stress test may be specific (95%), even though this finding only occurs occasionally. Therefore, a T-wave amplitude increase during an exercise test may aid in the diagnosis of the few patients who develop this abnormality, especially if there is no ST depression, as has occurred during several recent exercise tests.