EXERCISE STRESS-TESTING IN A COMMUNITY CLINIC - EXPERIENCE WITH 38970PATIENTS

Background Exercise testing is an important diagnostic and prognostic procedure in the assessment of patients with ischemic heart disease, a rrhythmia and hypertension. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the reasons for referral and the safety of exercise testing in the community. Methods The records of 38 970 patients who underwen t stress testing in a community clinic were reviewed retrospectively. Results The majority of the tests (24 153) were performed by family ph ysicians and the rest by cardiologists. The mean age of the patients w as 54 +/- 12 years (range 12-81 years). Sixty-eight percent were males , and the majority were referred by family physicians (50%). The main reason for referral was chest pain evaluation (59%); none of the patie nts died during testing, two patients sustained myocardial infarction during the recovery period and ischemia was detected in 14% of patient s Persistent tachyarrythmia was observed in five patients (0.01%). A v asovagal reaction was observed during the recovery period in 36 patien ts (0.1%). Conclusion This report emphasizes that stress tests can be performed safely in a community clinic with a very low rate of complic ations by family physicians or cardiologists.