Usefulness of the Duke Activity Status Index to Select an Optimal Cardiovascular Exercise Stress Test Protocol

Exercise testing represents the preferred stress modality for individuals undergoing evaluation of suspected myocardial ischemia. Patients with limited functional status may be unable to achieve an adequate exercise stress, thus influencing the diagnostic sensitivity of the results. The Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) is a clinically applicable tool to estimate exercise capacity. The purpose of the current study was to assess the utility of the DASI to identify patients unable to achieve an adequate exercise stress result. Patients referred for exercise stress testing were administered the DASI pre-exercise. Baseline characteristics and exercise variables were evaluated including DASI-metabolic equivalents (DASI-METs), peak METs, exercise time (ET), and %-predicted maximal heart rate (%PMHR). Criteria for determining adequate exercise stress was defined as ≥85%PMHR or ≥ 5-METs at peak exercise. In 608 cardiovascular stress tests performed during the study period; 314 were exercise stress. The median DASI-METs (8.4 [interquartile range; 6.7 to 9.9]) was associated with estimated peak exercise METs (R=0.50, p <0.001), ET (R=0.29, p <0.001), and %PMHR (R=0.19, p = 0.003). DASI-METs were different between those with < or ≥85%PMHR (7.9 [6.6-9.0] vs. 8.9 [7.1-9.9], P=0.025) and those with < or ≥5-METs (5.8 [4.6 to 6.6] versus 8.9 [7.3-9.9], p <0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified a DASI-MET threshold of ≤/>7.4 to optimally predict adequate exercise stress (sensitivity=93%, specificity=71%). In conclusion, the DASI correlates with peak METs, ET, and %PMHR among patients referred for exercise testing and can be used to identify patients with an increased likelihood of an inadequate stress test result.