[Usefulness of clinical profiling and exercise testing in the prognostic assessment of patients admitted with chest pain but without high-risk criteria].

Introduction And Objectives: Few data are available on the outcome of patients admitted to hospital with suspected acute coronary syndrome who have no high-risk factors and who undergo exercise testing before discharge. Our objectives were to investigate outcomes in this group of patients and to determine whether clinical history-taking or exercise testing can help to predict outcome.

Patients And Method: The study population comprised 449 patients admitted to hospital with chest pain suggestive of acute coronary syndrome.

[Dobutamine stress echocardiography in patients with stable chronic angina and a low- or medium-risk on exercise testing: usefulness for assessing long-term prognosis].

Introduction And Objectives: The ability of stress echocardiography to provide prognostic information that supplements that obtainable from clinical data and exercise electrocardiography is still controversial. Our aim was to determine whether dobutamine stress echocardiography provides additional information on long-term prognosis after conventional exercise testing has indicated that a patient with chronic stable angina has a low or intermediate risk of a cardiac event.

Patients And Method: The study included consecutive patients with stable angina who were not found to be at high risk on a previous exercise test.

Prognosis of patients with unstable angina and low-risk exercise test: significance of ST-segment depression on the admission ECG.

The presence of ST-segment depression on the admission electrocardiogram (ECG) is an important predictor of poor outcome in patients with unstable angina. On the other hand, patients with unstable angina who undergo a low-risk exercise test are supposed to have a favorable prognosis. The objective of the study was to determine the prognostic significance of ST-segment depression on the admission ECG in patients with unstable angina who undergo an exercise test that indicates a low risk of events.