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Exercise
Test Predicts
Heart Disease Risk
in Men
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - A simple exercise test can help predict
which men are at increased risk of developing heart disease, a
new report suggests.
The investigators
found that men who suffered exercise-induced silent myocardial
ischemia--a narrowing of the arteries that restricts blood flow
to the heart but does not cause symptoms--were at risk of future
heart problems, even if they did not currently have heart disease
but had certain risk factors. Historically, the test has been
used to assess risk among people who have already been diagnosed
with heart disease.
But among
men with no heart disease who were followed for an average of
10 years, silent ischemia during exercise was associated with
a significant risk of death from heart disease. It was linked
to a nearly sixfold increase in risk among smokers; a nearly fivefold
increased risk among men with high blood pressure; and close to
a fourfold increase in risk among men with high cholesterol.
The findings
underscore the value of exercise testing to gauge heart disease
risk, according to Dr. Jari A. Laukkanen and colleagues at the
University of Kuopio in Finland.
``Our study
emphasizes the importance of identifying high-risk persons...in
greatest need of preventive measures (through exercise testing),
and secondly...that painless myocardial ischemia is of significant
additional prognostic value when any conventional risk factors
are present in men clinically free of coronary heart disease,''
Laukkanen told Reuters Health.
Exercise tests
are used to gauge the heart's aerobic capacity and may help to
diagnose heart disease risk by providing information on the heart's
ability to function during stressful conditions. Patients are
tested on a treadmill or, as in the current study, on stationary
bicycles.
The study
included more than 2,600 middle-aged men without heart disease.
Overall, about 11% had painless ischemia during exercise.
SOURCE:
Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2001;38:72-79.
Reference
Source 89
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