Risk stratification of patients in an emergency department chest pain unit: prognostic value of exercise treadmill testing using the Duke score.

Background: Exercise treadmill testing (ETT) has been standard for evaluating outpatients at risk for cardiovascular events. Few studies have demonstrated its prognostic usefulness in emergency department chest pain units or have used the Duke score [(exercise duration in minutes) - (5 x ST-segment deviation in millimeters) - (4 x treadmill angina index)] to grade its performance.

Aims: Our objective was to assess the usefulness of this score in a chest pain unit to predict cardiovascular events.