scholarly journals Emergency department patient compliance with follow-up for outpatient exercise stress testing: a randomized controlled trial

CJEM ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (06) ◽  
pp. 435-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doug Richards ◽  
Nazanin Meshkat ◽  
Jaqueline Chu ◽  
Kevin Eva ◽  
Andrew Worster

ABSTRACTIntroduction:Numerous patients are assessed in the emergency department (ED) for chest pain suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and subsequently discharged if found to be at low risk. Exercise stress testing is frequently advised as a follow-up investigation for low-risk patients; however, compliance with such recommendations is poorly understood. We sought to determine if compliance with follow-up for exercise stress testing is higher in patients for whom the investigation is ordered at the time of ED discharge, compared with patients who are advised to arrange testing through their family physician (FP).Methods:Low-risk chest pain patients being discharged from the ED for outpatient exercise stress test and FP follow-up were randomized into 2 groups. ED staff ordered an exercise stress test for the intervention group, and the control group was advised to contact their FP to arrange testing. The primary outcome was completion of an exercise stress test at 30 days, confirmed through both patient contact and stress test results. Patients were unaware that our primary interest was their compliance with the exercise stress testing recommendations.Results:Two-hundred and thirty-one patients were enrolled and baseline characteristics were similar between the 2 groups. Completion of an exercise stress test at 30 days occurred in 87 out of 120 (72.5%) patients in the intervention group and 60 out of 107 (56.1%) patients in the control group. The difference in compliance rates (16.4%) between the 2 groups was statistically significant (χ2= 6.69,p< 0.001) with a relative risk of 1.29 (95% confidence interval 1.18–1.40), and the results remained significant after a “worst case” sensitivity analysis involving 4 control group cases lost to follow-up. When subjects were contacted by telephone 30 days after the ED visit, 60% of those who were noncompliant patients felt they did not have a heart problem and that further testing was unnecessary.Conclusion:When ED staff order an outpatient exercise stress test following investigation for potential ACS, patients are more likely to complete the test if it is booked for them before ED discharge. After discharge, many low-risk chest pain patients feel they are not at risk and do not return to their FP for further testing in a timely manner as advised. Changing to a strategy of ED booking of exercise stress testing may help earlier identification of patients with coronary heart disease.

1970 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-31
Author(s):  
Md Khurshed Ahmed ◽  
Mohammad Salman ◽  
Md Ashraf Uddin Sultan ◽  
Md Abu Siddique ◽  
KMHS Sirajul Haque ◽  
...  

Angiography of patients with typical chest pain reveals normal epicardial coronary arteries in about 15-20%. ECG changes suggestive of myocardial ischemia during exercise also can be demonstrated in this subset of the patients. Total 58 patients (42 females) with mean age 42±7 years who were undergoing coronary angiogram in the Department of Cardiology, University Cardiac Center, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh from January 2005 to December 2009 were evaluated. The patients were recruited on the basis of presence of history of chest pain, with normal resting ECG and ischemia like ECG changes during exercise stress test. 32.8% patients had hypertension and 15.5% were diabetics, 19.0% had dyslipidemia and 6.9% had family history of ischemic heart disease. All the patients were having positive exercise stress test. Angiographic findings showed luminal irregularities in 29.3% patients, 15.5% patients had luminal stenosis less than 30% and rest had normal coronary angiogram. Follow up of the patients after one and six months of angiogram was done. After one month 63.8% patients remained symptomatic and after six months 63.3% patients remained symptomatic despite maximum medical management. The pathophysiology and appropriate management of this subset of the patients still remained a challenge for physicians. Optimum management of cardiovascular risk factors is very important issue in this group of patients.Key words: Angiography; Epicardial coronary arteries; Exercise stress test; Cardiovascular risk factors. DOI: 10.3329/uhj.v6i1.7187University Heart Journal Vol.6(1) 2010 pp.27-31


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 889-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asia Kogan ◽  
Reuma Shapira ◽  
Basil S. Lewis ◽  
Ada Tamir ◽  
Gad Rennert

2003 ◽  
Vol 96 (11) ◽  
pp. 1121-1127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Weiss ◽  
Amy A. Ernst ◽  
Gary Godorov ◽  
Deborah B. Diercks ◽  
Josh Jergenson ◽  
...  

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johnny Wu ◽  
Ivan Rudenko ◽  
Chandana Shekar ◽  
Suraj Dahal ◽  
April Kinninger ◽  
...  

Introduction: Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, with the disease burden particularly high in various racial and ethnic groups. In serving an underserved population comprised largely of Hispanic and African American individuals, it is crucial for an urban public hospital to diagnose heart disease in a resource-efficient and cost-effective manner. The greater positive predictive value of cardiac CT relative to exercise stress testing presents the opportunity for such hospitals to optimize resource utilization in identifying patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Hypothesis: The positive predictive value of cardiac CT in diagnosing CAD is greater than that of exercise stress testing in the patient population served by an urban public hospital. Methods: Patients at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (Torrance, California) were identified for inclusion in this observational study on the basis of a positive (i.e., abnormal) exercise stress test result or a positive cardiac CT result, during the period between January 2015 and September 2019. These patients were subsequently referred for invasive coronary artery angiography, with the diagnosis of obstructive CAD established by an indication for revascularization via percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Data were analyzed using a two-tailed Z-test for two proportions. Results: Seventy-six catheterization laboratory results were analyzed. Fifteen subjects with an abnormal exercise stress test result, out of a total of 41 (36.6%), had an indication for PCI or CABG. Twenty-five cardiac CT imaging subjects, out of a total of 35 (71.4%), had an indication for PCI or CABG. The proportion of positive cardiac CT results with an indication for PCI or CABG was significantly higher than the abnormal exercise stress test proportion (p=0.0024). Conclusions: Among urban public hospital patients who were referred for invasive coronary artery angiography, it was determined that cardiac CT provides a greater positive predictive value in the diagnosis of obstructive CAD than exercise stress testing. This result may help guide the optimal allocation of diagnostic resources in an urban public hospital.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 731-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felice Sirico ◽  
Fredrick Fernando ◽  
Fernando Di Paolo ◽  
Paolo Emilio Adami ◽  
Maria Grazia Signorello ◽  
...  

Aims The aim of our study was to assess the clinical significance of the exercise stress testing endpoints, namely 85% of maximal theoretical heart rate (MTHR), metabolic equivalent of task, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and their relation to electrocardiographic (ECG) changes in a healthy adult population. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 408 males and 52 females (mean age 39.4 ± 8.6 years) who performed the maximal cycle ergometer exercise stress test until volitional exhaustion, reporting the RPE score at 85% of MTHR and at peak exercise. Metabolic equivalents of task were indirectly calculated from the maximum workload and compared with the predicted values. Sitting torso-lead ECG and blood pressure were recorded at rest, during exercise and during recovery. Results Of 460 participants, 73% exceeded 85% of MTHR. The RPE score represented the overall most significant endpoint of exercise stress testing, with the median value of 17 at peak exercise. ECG events were detected in 23/124 (18.5%) who reached ≤ 85% of MTHR and in 61/336 (18.2%) who achieved >85% of MTHR ( p = 0.92). In the latter group, 54% of ECG changes occurred at < 85% of MTHR and 46% at > 85% of MTHR ( p = 0.51). If the exercise stress testing had been interrupted at ≤ 85% of MTHR, almost half of the ECG events would have remained undetected and 35% of the cardiovascular abnormalities observed at the diagnostic follow-up would have remained undiagnosed. Conclusion Terminating exercise stress testing before volitional exhaustion and an RPE score of 17 limits the test accuracy and reduces the possibility to detect cardiovascular abnormalities in apparently healthy adult populations.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirtipal S Bhatia ◽  
Subrat Das ◽  
Nirupama Krishnamurthi ◽  
Devika Aggarwal ◽  
vardhmaan jain ◽  
...  

Introduction: ST-segment changes during exercise stress testing are diagnostic of myocardial ischemia in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). Recent studies have shown that exercise-induced ST-elevation in aVR is associated with significant stenosis of the left main (LM) and proximal left anterior descending (pLAD) arteries Methods: Search of electronic databases (Embase, Medline, and Web of Science) using MeSH terms and keywords for exercise stress test, lead aVR and CAD was performed from inception through December 2019. 2 reviewers independently screened results in 2 stages: title/abstract followed by full text. Included studies had adult patients who underwent exercise stress testing and reported the performance of ST-elevation >1 mm in lead aVR for diagnosing significant LM or pLAD disease. Significant disease was defined as luminal narrowing >50% and >70% for LM and pLAD respectively. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios (LR) and diagnostic odds ratios were calculated using a bivariate model, and a summary receiver operator curve (SROC) was constructed. Results: We included 6 studies with 1128 patients. The pooled sensitivity was 0.8 (95% CI 0.36-0.97; I 2 =94.7) and pooled specificity was 0.78 (95% CI 0.56-0.90; I 2 =97.8). Overall calculated positive LR was 3.56 (95% CI 2.34-5.4) and negative LR was 0.26 (95% CI 0.07-1.01). The pooled diagnostic odds ratio was 13.5 (95% CI 4.8-38.5). Hierarchical SROC curve showed an area under the curve of 0.84 (95% CI 0.81-0.87) (Figure 1). Conclusions: Our analysis showed moderate sensitivity and specificity of exercise-induced aVR ST-elevation for diagnosing significant LM or pLAD disease. The heterogeneity among studies was high, likely due to differences in patient selection. In conclusion, ST-elevation in aVR during exercise stress test increases the likelihood of having LM or pLAD disease. Large studies are needed to substantiate this finding.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-121
Author(s):  
Abuosa Ahmed ◽  
◽  
AlRahimi Jamilah ◽  
Almouaalamy Nabil ◽  
◽  
...  

Exercise Treadmill Testing to identify CAD is now a widely available and relatively low-cost examination that has been used for more than 60 years. The use of the ETT has expanded to include testing for functional capacity, chronotropic incompetence, assess the effects of therapy and also useful for risk stratification of patients with known CAD. The test sensitivity ranges from 61% to 73%, as reported by various analysts, and Specificity ranges from 59% to 81%, depending on the study or article referenced. Due to the various criteria set for the exercise stress test interpretation and reporting, we have outlined the criteria needed to support high quality exercise stress testing practice throughout Health facilities.


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