Handgrip exercise associated with dobutamine stress echocardiography

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Noninvasive Cardiac Testing

Background:

• Stress echocardiography is the leading noninvasive diagnostic tool for coronary artery disease.
• Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) and Dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiography (DASE) are established methods.
• Handgrip (HG) exercise has been infrequently utilized in stress echocardiography.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of incorporating HG exercise with DSE.
• To determine if this combined approach enhances the diagnostic capability of stress echocardiography.

Main Methods:

• Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) was initially performed on 96 patients.
• For 19 patients not reaching target heart rate, 1 minute of HG exercise at 50% maximal effort was added.
• 16 of these patients subsequently achieved their target heart rate.

Main Results:

• A total of 10 patients demonstrated inducible myocardial ischemia.
• Coronary angiography confirmed significant coronary artery disease in all 10 patients (100% concordance).
• The combined HG-DSE approach proved safe and feasible.

Conclusions:

• Handgrip (HG) exercise combined with dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) is safe, feasible, and effective.
• This combined method shows potential for improving the diagnostic capacity of stress echocardiography.
• Further large-scale studies are warranted to validate these encouraging preliminary findings.