Cardiovascular responses to upper gastrointestinal endoscopy

Continuous Holter monitoring and serial blood pressure recordings were obtained during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy on 51 unselected patients, 18 with cardiovascular disease. Sedation with intravenous diazepam produced a small but significant fall (P is less than .001) in blood pressure, heart rate and rate-pressure product. During endoscopy, the blood pressure rose only to base line levels but the heart rate and rate-pressure product went significantly higher (P is less than .001). Nine subjects (fice with pre-existing cardiovascular disease, four normal) exhibited electrocardiographic changes, including supraventricular arrhythmias, ventricular ectopy and significant ST segment depression. None of the patients had bradycardia or significant vagal symptomatology. The difference in incidence of abnormalities between the normal patients (4/33) and those with cardiovascular disease (5/18) was not statistically significant (P = 0.3). Endoscopy can be safely performed even in patients with cardiovascular diseasebut attention to the reduction of cardiac stress would further increase its safety.