Collateral recruitment and "warm-up" after first exercise in ischemic heart disease.
BACKGROUND
Proposed mechanisms for "warm-up" after angina on first exercise include ischemic preconditioning and collateral recruitment. The aim of this study was to determine whether patients with ischemic heart disease and well-developed coronary collateral vessels have a greater warm-up response than those with no visible collateral vessels.


RESULTS
Fifteen patients with a total coronary occlusion and collateral vessels and 18 patients with a single coronary artery stenosis and no angiographically visible collateral vessels were studied. Warm-up was measured as the difference in ST depression on the second compared with the first of 2 sequential treadmill exercise tests separated by 10 minutes of rest. There was a trend for the duration of second exercise to increase more in patients with occlusion than in those with stenosis (+1.3 vs +0.54 minutes, respectively, P =.087). In both groups, ST depression was less on second exercise than on first exercise. The size of this decrease was greater in the occlusion group than in the stenosis group. ST depression at equivalent submaximal exercise decreased by 0.52 vs 0.19 mm, respectively (P =.049). The rate of increase in ST depression during exercise decreased by 1.08 versus 0. 55 mm/min, respectively (P =.034). These differences were less after adjustment for ST depression on first exercise (P =.11 and P =.063, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The trend for a greater decrease in ST depression on second compared with first exercise in the patients with total coronary occlusion suggests that an increase in collateral flow is a mechanism for warm-up after first exercise in ischemic heart disease.
Kay
I P
IP
Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Kittelson
J
J
Stewart
R A
RA
D000368:Aged; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D010807:Physical Endurance; D011336:Probability; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors