The Relation Between Chronotropic Response to Exercise and Angiographic Severity in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract

Exercise stress testing is still one of the most important tools to prove or disprove the presence of coronary artery disease. For many years "ST" segment analysis was the cornerstone of exercise stress testing not only its deviation away from the isoelectric line but also the time of its occurrence as well as its depressing quality, focusing a little light on other test parameters. In our study, we tried to disclose the relation between chronotropic response during exercise stress testing and the severity of coronary artery disease as judged by diagnostic coronary angiography. In our study, fourty four patients with ECG evidence or clinical suspicion of coronary artery disease were subjected to exercise stress testing and diagnostic coronary angiography in addition to ten normal subjects taken as a control group. During exercise stress testing: Bruce protocol was used. The test was terminated if significantly ischaemic "ST' segment changes occurred, alarming chest pain or hypotension were experienced or the target heart rate was achieved.