title: [Long-term (10 years) predictive value of the exercise test after myocardial infarct and significance of the longitudinal repetition of the test during follow-up].
abstract: Our follow-up after myocardial infarction consists of 321 patients followed for 10 years or until death. 147 patients, free of clinical features associated with high risk of subsequent events, underwent a late exercise test at cycloergometer 6 to 17 months after infarction. Ten year mortality was 48.3% and 10.3% in patients with a positive or a negative test respectively (p less than 0.0001). Incidence of nonfatal reinfarction was 4.6% and 33.3% respectively (p less than 0.001). 108 patients underwent a second test later in the follow-up (2.8 +/- .9 years): in 27 patients who were positive at first test the second test was also positive and mortality was 33.3%. Sixteen out of 81 patients with a former negative test resulted positive at a repeat test and mortality was 37.5% vs a 3% mortality rate among 65 patients who were negative at both tests. Thus long-term prognostic significance of exercise stress testing after acute myocardial infarction is confirmed and extended, despite limitation of a late test. Moreover, the second test along the follow-up allows further stratification. In conclusion, patients with a negative test and without clinical features predictive of poor prognosis constitute a very low risk group who need not undergo invasive testing, whereas patients with a positive result or who become positive at following test deserve further evaluation and may become bypass candidates in the ensuing years.
mesh_terms: D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005080:Exercise Test; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000401:mortality*; D011379:Prognosis
vernacular_title: Valore predittivo a lungo termine (10 anni) della prova da sforzo nel post-infarto e significato della ripetizione del test longitudinalmente nel corso del follow-up.