Exercise testing early after myocardial infarction: comparison with echocardiography, electrocardiographic monitoring and coronary arteriography.
BACKGROUND
Predischarge exercise testing early after myocardial infarction is useful for risk stratification, exercise prescription, and assessment of prognosis and treatment.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to compare the findings of exercise testing early after myocardial infarction with those of echocardiography, electrocardiographic monitoring (24-hour Holter monitoring) and coronary angiography.


METHODS
We evaluated 60 cases (mean age of 51.42 +/- 9.34 years), of which 46 were males (77%). The symptom-limited maximal exercise test according to the Naughton protocol12 was performed between the sixth day of hospitalization and hospital discharge, with the patients on medication. During hospitalization, the patients underwent echocardiography, electrocardiographic monitoring and coronary angiography. The significance level was set at 0.05 (alpha = 5%).


RESULTS
Exercise testing had a poor performance in the detection of multivessel coronary artery disease (sensitivity, 42%; specificity, 69%). No significant differences were found when the presence of ischemia on exercise test was compared with multivessel coronary disease, complex ventricular arrhythmias on electrocardiographic monitoring, and the finding of an ejection fraction lower than 60% on echocardiography (p = 0.56), as well as with the presence of multivessel lesions, complex ventricular arrhythmias on electrocardiographic monitoring and abnormal ejection fraction on echocardiography (p = 0.36).


CONCLUSIONS
The presence of ischemia during exercise testing was associated with the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias on electrocardiographic monitoring, with reduced ejection fraction on echocardiography, as well as with the presence of multivessel coronary lesions, which constitutes an indicator of a high coronary risk.
Leite
Wagner Aparecido
WA
Universidade Federal de São Paulo - Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, SP - Brazil.
Gil
Manoel Adan
MA
Lima
Valter Correia
VC
Luna Filho
Bráulio
B
Servantes
Denise Maria
DM
Paola
Angelo Amato Vincenzo de
AA
Oliveira Filho
Japy Angelini
JA
D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004452:Echocardiography; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011859:Radiography