title: The exercise treadmill test for diagnosis and prognosis of coronary artery disease.
abstract: After more than 50 years of refinement, the exercise test remains a useful device for diagnosis and prognosis of coronary artery disease. In addition, it is within the range of skills of primary care physicians. Understanding that the exercise test is not a noninvasive angiogram, and that angiography primarily defines anatomy, emphasizes the complementary nature of the tests. The addition of thallium scintigraphy to the exercise test brings enhanced sensitivity and specificity in certain clinical settings. The use of exercise testing with or without thallium scintigraphy is not currently recommended for evaluation of dysrhythmias, pre-operative clearance, or screening of asymptomatic individuals.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Family Medicine, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Shreveport, USA.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Cavell
mesh_terms: D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes
chemical_list: D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes