Peak Systolic Blood Pressure During the Exercise Test: Reference Values by Sex and Age and Association With Mortality.

[Figure: see text].

Added value of exercise test findings beyond traditional risk factors for cardiovascular risk stratification.

Background: Functional aerobic capacity (FAC) determined by treadmill exercise testing (TMET) is associated with cardiovascular (CV) disease mortality independent of traditional CV risk factors and is a potentially underutilized tool. The purpose of this study was to determine added prognostic value of reduced FAC and other exercise test abnormalities beyond CV risk factors for predicting total and CV mortality.

Methods: The TMET database was queried for Minnesota patients (≥30 years) without baseline CV disease from September 21, 1993, through December 20, 2010.

Frequency and characteristics of exercise-induced second-degree atrioventricular block in patients undergoing stress testing.

Background: Spontaneous second-degree atrioventricular block induced by exercise (Ex2AVB) is rare, but it can cause profound exercise intolerance.

Objective: We sought to determine the frequency of Ex2AVB in our exercise testing practice and to describe characteristics of patients with Ex2AVB. We hypothesized that the number of patients would be small, but they would require invasive treatment.