Influence of resting ECG abnormalities on the ECG response to maximal exercise in women suspected of coronary heart disease.
Coronary arteriographic data have been compared with the ECG response to a maximal exercise test in 53 women with typical or atypical complaints of angina pectoris (AP). All patients with factors known as influencing the repolarization at rest were eliminated and the cases were subdivided according to the presence of a normal (n=26) or abnormal (n=27) resting ECG. The sensitivity (88%) and specificity (81%) of the exertional ECG was not affected by the clinical history nor by the resting ECG data. False positive responses were frequent (32%), particularly among women with atypical AP (50%), but their prevalence was not influenced by the resting ECG data. We conclude that, even in the absence of drug therapy, non-specific resting ECG abnormalities do not influence the ECG response to exercise in women and that they cannot be considered as a factor contributing to the false positive responses: the latter appear to be related to the low prevalence of coronary artery disease in women.
D000328:Adult; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005080:Exercise Test; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012146:Rest