Early treadmill testing after myocardial infarction: Angiographic and hemodynamic correlations

Twenty-eight patients who were two weeks post acute myocardial infarction walked on a motorized treadmill at 1 MPH 0 percent grade for five minutes (group 1) or to an end-point of symptoms, ST-T wave changes or arrhythmias (group 2). At subsequent cardiac catheterization, 73 percent in group 1 had single vessel coronary artery disease whereas 82 percent group 2 had three or four vessel coronary artery disease. Ejection fraction was better in group 1 as was the slope of a modified left ventricular function curve. We conclude that limited exercise treadmill testing soon after acute myocardial infarction may be useful in predicting the extent of coronary artery disease and the amount of left ventricular dysfunction.