IMR Press / RCM / Volume 24 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm2402047
Open Access Original Research
Arterial Stiffness is Associated with False-Positive ST-Segment Depression in Supine Bicycle Exercise Stress Echocardiography
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1 Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, 02447 Seoul, Republic of Korea
2 Division of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Center, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 06273 Seoul, Republic of Korea
*Correspondence: choi0928@yuhs.ac (Eui-Young Choi)
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2023, 24(2), 47; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2402047
Submitted: 3 October 2022 | Revised: 21 December 2022 | Accepted: 29 December 2022 | Published: 6 February 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cardiac Stress Testing)
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: Although exercise stress electrocardiography (ECG) is a popular tool for detecting coronary artery disease (CAD), the induced ST-depression without coronary artery stenosis (FST) remains a challenge for accurate diagnosis. Exercise-induced ST depression is related to poor prognosis even in non-obstructive disease; however, its determinants have not been fully defined. We sought to investigate whether ventriculo-vascular interactional indexes such as arterial stiffness index, exercise hemodynamic parameters and echocardiographic left ventricular (LV) functional parameters were related to FST. Methods: In the current study, 609 participants who underwent both supine bicycle exercise echocardiography and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) measurement without exercise-induced regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA) were analyzed. Referral reasons for stress test were CAD detection or evaluation of patency of previous revascularization. Stepwise graded supine bicycle exercise was performed with simultaneous ECG recording and echocardiography after full conventional resting echocardiography. The FST was defined as newly developed >1 mm ST depression without RWMA during exercise. Results: The median age of the study participants was 65 (59.0–70.5) years, and 222 (37%) patients were women. Among them, 103 (17%) patients showed FST during the exercise or recovery phase. The prevalence of FST did not differ between sexes. Older age, higher pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP), left atrial volume index, baPWV and ankle brachial index at rest and hypertensive response, higher heart rate and rate-pressure product at peak exercise were significantly associated with FST. In multivariate analysis, higher peak heart rate, PASP, and baPWV were independently related to FST. Conclusions: Stress-induced RWMA in addition to ECG should be evaluated to detect CAD in patients with higher baPWV and PASP. FST might be linked to subclinical myocardial ischemia through arterial stiffness and diastolic dysfunction.

Keywords
exercise test
ST depression
arterial stiffness
myocardial ischemia
hypertensive response
Funding
HI19C0481/Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea
HI19C0481/Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea
Figures
Fig. 1.
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