A basic approach to the interpretation of the exercise test

For primary care physicians, exercise testing is a cost-effective tool to evaluate patients presenting with symptoms. It helps to stratify those with probable coronary artery disease into a high-risk group needing referral and a low-risk group that can be observed. Each of the five main responses--the presence of myocardial ischemia, the heart rate and blood pressure response, the symptoms, any dysrhythmias, and the maximal aerobic capacity--should be mentioned in the final report. A suggested format for the exercise test report is shown in Table 4. Using the tools of pretest and post-test probability, the severity of disease, and the exercise treadmill scores greatly aids the primary care physician in the management of the patient evaluated with an exercise test.