9 Csa
9 Csa
9 Csa
EXERCISE HIM
Exercise Stress Test:
• The exercise stress test (EST) (treadmill test) is a useful test
for evaluating the cause of chronic chest pain when there is
concern about IHD (stable angina). The test provides a
controlled environment for observing the effects of increases
in the myocardial demand for oxygen.
• To do an appropriate and accurate analysis, a target heart
rate must be reached. Target heart rate is 85% of predicted
maximum heart rate: (220 – patient’s age) unless test had
to be stopped before reaching that level e.g. severe chest
pain, dizziness or fatigue or significant ECG changes
• Significant fixed stenoses (>50%) of the coronary arteries
will result in ECG evidence of ischemia.
• Low-grade stenoses (<50%) may not produce sufficient
impairment of blood flow to affect the ECG; in these cases
the stress test will be normal.
•An EST is considered positive for myocardial ischemia when chest
pain and /or ST-segment depressions occur.
•In general, the earlier the angina or ECG abnormalities occur, the
more significant they will be.
•The exercise stress testing can help to do the following:
1) Diagnose ischemic heart disease or residual ischemia after infarction
2) Determine the severity of IHD and the need for further intervention
3) Assess the effectiveness of treatment
4) Determine functional capacity e.g. for fitness to work or for cardiac
rehabilitation program.
•EST is contraindicated when it may place the patient at
increased risk of cardiac instability, e.g., aortic dissection, ACS, or
symptomatic supraventricular arrhythmia.
•Patients who are unable to exercise or walk should be
considered for pharmacological stress testing, such as
dipyridamole (Persantine) or dobutamine stress test.
•Presence of baseline ECG abnormalities [e.g. Bundle branch
block, left ventricular hypertrophy, digoxin therapy or with a
pacemaker] may make it more difficult to interpret test results. In
those cases, patients should be evaluated by nuclear stress
imaging instead of the exercise stress test.
Certain medications require special
consideration when the test is done for
diagnosis of ischemia:
Beta blockers may blunt the heart rate during
exercise and thus should be held 24 hours
prior to the test.
Hold nitrates 24 hr. before the test
The sensitivity and specificity of EST is
not very high. Thus the choice to perform
this test or other more accurate tests
requires proper clinical and ECG assessment
before deciding what test to use.. e.g. Exercise
testing in asymptomatic young women yields an increased
number of false-positive results, while exercise testing in
patients with known CAD may result in an unacceptably high
false-negative rate. Thus, we must choose which patient is
eligible for doing the test.
Other types of stress tests include:
Nuclear stress test:
• A scanning of the heart is done at rest and after exercise, through injection of radioactive material that is
uptaken by myocardial cells if perfusion is normal.
• Nuclear testing has higher sensitivity and specificity than regular stress test and is NOT affected by baseline
changes in ECG
• In those who cannot walk, pharmacological nuclear stress test can be used: a drug [(such as dipyridamole
(persantin)] is given to induce tachycardia, or redistribution of coronary blood flow as if the person were
exercising. Do not give if the patient is wheezing.
Dobutamine or adenosine stress test: used in those who are unable to exercise; a drug
is given to induce tachycardia, as if the person were exercising “Do not give adenosine if
the patient is wheezing”
CABG involves the construction of ≥1 graft between the arterial and coronary
circulations. (Many patients receive both arterial and venous grafts.) Long-term graft
patency is significantly better with the arterial grafts (e.g., internal mammary artery).
Potential consequences of graft failure (loss of patency) include the development of
angina, myocardial infarction, or cardiac death.
• PCI involve dilating the lesion by balloon then putting a stent to
prevent re occlusion at the lesion. Because stent is a foreign material,
the patient needs dual antiplatelet therapy for several months to
avoid thrombus formation at the stent site, till endothelial lining
occurs.
CLINICAL RECALL
Which of the following is most likely to decrease a
patient’s risk for developing ischemic heart disease?
A. Tight glycemic control of patients with DM
B. Aggressive treatment of HTN
C. Aggressive treatment of hyperlipidemia
D. Smoking cessation
E. All of the above