Exercise testing in special situations: ER, preoperative and disability evaluation

In a number of medical centers, exercise testing has proven to be a safe and useful tool in the evaluation of patients presenting chest pain in an emergency room. At these centers, after a period of observation without evidence of acute myocardial infarction, exercise testing is done. If the exercise test result is normal, the patient is discharged from the emergency room, without being admitted to the hospital. Exercise testing is a well-accepted noninvasive method to evaluate at-risk patients being considered for elective noncardiac surgery. Exercise testing is frequently used to determine functional capacity during disability assessment.