[Exercise training parameters and pre- and post-test scores in the light of the most recent studies: review of the literature].

Exercise test is the simplest, most thorough and cost-effective tool capable of providing diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of patients with known or suspected coronary heart disease. Imaging tests have been lately utilized with increasing frequency: while quite useful to define the presence and extent of ischemia, these tests do not have the prognostic insight offered by data derived from exercise parameters like effort duration, behavior of heart rate, blood pressure and occurrence of arrhythmias. The diagnostic and prognostic value of exercise test-derived data may be further enhanced by the utilization of scores. The authors have carried out a comprehensive review of the current literature on this topic.