Evaluation oflower RisKPatients With 9cute Chest Pain In 'The 'Emergency Department

Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the safety and utility of early exercise treadmill test of low risk patients presenting with chest pain after a period of observation in the chest pain unit that is located in the intermediate care unit at the New Kasr Al Aini Teaching Hospital.

This work included 170 patients who presented to the ED with chest pain compatible with cardiac origin. Their mean age was (49.418.64) years and their age ranged from 30 lo 70 years. Male patients were 128 (75.3 %) while female patients were 42 (24. 7%).

On the basis of past history of coronary artery disease patients were classified into two groups: patients with no prior history of coronary artery disease (group-I), which represented 135 (79.4%) patients and those with prior history of coronary artery discase (group-II), representing 35 (20.6%) patients.

Both groups contained more male patients, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Analysis was done for the prevalence of the cardiovascular risk factors; as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, and family history of coronary artery disease in both groups. It showed that diabetes mellitus had a statistically significant higher prevalence in group-II than group-I patients; values were (42.9% v5. 24.4%, P<0.05 respectively).

In addition, in group-I there was statistically significant differences between men and women for diabetes mellitus and hypertension, which were more common in women (37.8 vs. 19.4%, P<0.05) and (54.1 vs. 29.6%, P<0.001 respectively), while group-ll patients showed no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of the conventional risk factors between both gender.

There was no statistically significant difference between both groups in the mean time interval from the onset of chest pain till intermediate care unit admission, on the other hand group-I patients were discharged earlier