Is rest or exercise hypertension a cause of a false-positive exercise test?

To determine if a history of hypertension or an exaggerated rise in exercise systolic BP is associated with a false-positive exercise ECG.

Retrospective analysis of the associations between exercise-induced ST-segment depression and a history of hypertension, exercise systolic BP, and several other clinical and exercise test variables. Among 20,097 patients referred for exercise tomographic thallium imaging in a nuclear cardiology laboratory at a tertiary care center, 1,873 patients met inclusion criteria for this study, which included no history of myocardial infarction or coronary artery revascularization, a normal resting ECG, and normal exercise thallium images.

False-positive ST-segment depression occurred in 20% of the population. A history of hypertension was actually associated with a lower likelihood of ST-segment depression (odds ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55 to 0.89; p = 0. 004). A higher peak exercise systolic BP was associated with a higher likelihood of ST-segment depression (odds ratio, 1.08 for each 10-mm Hg increase in systolic BP; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.14; p < 0. 001). However, the association between peak exercise systolic BP and ST-segment depression was so weak that this measurement could not be predictive in the individual patient (R(2) = 0.2%). For every 20-mm Hg increase in peak exercise systolic BP, the percentage of patients with ST-segment depression increased by only 3%.

In patients with normal resting ECGs, we conclude the following: (1) a history of hypertension is not a cause of a false-positive exercise test, and (2) higher exercise systolic BP is a significant but weak predictor of ST-segment depression.