Usefulness of standard treadmill stress testing in women.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the usefulness of stress test to detect coronary artery disease in women in local population.


METHODS
Patients coming for stress test were evaluated clinically and 835 patients were enrolled, 69.6% were men and 30.4% were women. Chest pain was the main reason for referral for treadmill stress testing. Bruce protocol was used for stress. 85% of the maximum predicted heart rate was considered significant.


RESULTS
Higher numbers of male patients were able to achieve the desired metabolic equivalents (METs) as compared to females. Diabetes was equally prevalent in both men and women while higher number of male patients had higher systolic blood pressure. Males were relatively older while females were relatively overweight. CAD was detected in 9.3% of men and 5.5% of women. The number of cancelled and non conclusive results was significantly higher in women. Gender, age and BMI were predictors of positive results.


CONCLUSIONS
The guidelines recommend using stress test as initial modality in most of women and this study validates this belief.
Shah
Syed Fayyaz Ahmed
SF
Department of Cardiology, King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Meo
Sultan Ayub
SA
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055686:Metabolic Equivalent; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D016387:Women's Health