Geriatric cardiology: when exercise stress testing is justified.
Short exercise duration is not necessarily ominous in an older patient unless other significant abnormalities, such as ST-segment depression or arrhythmias, are associated. Problems peculiar to the elderly during exercise testing--appearance of fatigue and lightheadedness due to muscle weakness and deconditioning, vasoregulatory insufficiency, and a tendency to unsteadiness of gait--may require physical or emotional support.
D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged