title: [Prevalence and clinical background of exercise-induced ventricular tachycardia during exercise testing].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study assessed the prevalence and clinical background of exercise-induced ventricular tachycardia during exercise testing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Complications during exercise testing were reviewed in 25,075 consecutive patients, 14,037 men and 11,038 women, who underwent a total of 47,656 maximal treadmill or bicycle exercise tests between April 1985 and March 1999. The mean age of the patients was 53.3 +/- 8.8 (mean +/- SD) years. Non-sustained ventricular tachycardia was defined as 8 or more consecutive ventricular ectopic beats at > 100 beats/min. A total of 126 patients undergoing exercise testing to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacotherapy for ventricular tachycardia were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The major reasons for the exercise test were chest pain (27.0%) and screening (20.3%). Twenty patients (0.08%) had exercise-induced ventricular tachycardia. Six patients had ischemic heart disease, two had cardiomyopathy, five had other cardiac diseases, and seven patients showed no clinical evidence of heart disease. The incidence of ventricular tachycardia in patients with cardiomyopathy (2/109) was higher than in other patients, but the number of patients with ventricular tachycardia was small. Ventricular tachycardia was documented at heart rates of more than 80% of predicted maximal heart rate in 12 of the 20 patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that the exercise testing can be done safely when the end-point criteria are properly applied.
authors.affiliation: Exercise Laboratory, Cardiovascular Institute Hospital, Roppongi 7-3-10, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032.
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tamakoshi
authors.forename: Etsuko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tajima
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogasawara
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iinuma
authors.forename: Tadanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aizawa
authors.forename: Long-Tai
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Haruki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Itoh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D015995:Prevalence; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*