Usefulness of standard treadmill stress testing in women.

Objective: To determine the usefulness of stress test to detect coronary artery disease in women in local population.

Methods: Patients coming for stress test were evaluated clinically and 835 patients were enrolled, 69.6% were men and 30.4% were women. Chest pain was the main reason for referral for treadmill stress testing. Bruce protocol was used for stress. 85% of the maximum predicted heart rate was considered significant.

Results: Higher numbers of male patients were able to achieve the desired metabolic equivalents (METs) as compared to females. Diabetes was equally prevalent in both men and women while higher number of male patients had higher systolic blood pressure. Males were relatively older while females were relatively overweight. CAD was detected in 9.3% of men and 5.5% of women. The number of cancelled and non conclusive results was significantly higher in women. Gender, age and BMI were predictors of positive results.

Conclusion: The guidelines recommend using stress test as initial modality in most of women and this study validates this belief.