[Usefulness of exercise electro-cardiography in a THP (Total Health Promotion Plan)]

We conducted ergometer exercise electrocardiography (ergometry) on 3,477 subjects in a THP (Total Health Promotion Plan). One hundred cases in which abnormal findings were detected by ergometry were analyzed. In the hundred cases there were 3 patterns: abnormal ST change, 50 cases; abnormal reaction, 22 cases; and extreme increase in blood pressure, 28 cases. Electrocardiograms (ECG) in 78 of these 100 cases indicated no abnormalities. Of the 31 subjects who underwent further examinations, in 18 cases abnormal findings were detected, and further observation or treatment was necessary. They were over two thirds of the 26 cases requiring observation or treatment on further examination. In other words, exercise electrocardiography revealed more than 3 times as many problem cases as electrocardiography only. One hundred and four cases were analyzed, and among them abnormal findings on ECG made further examination or treatment necessary. Of 68 subjects with an abnormal ECG and who needed to undergo exercise electrocardiography, 51 (75%) had no need to undergo further examinations, because there were no abnormal findings on ergometry in the THP. Of the 104 subjects who underwent ECG examination at rest, 51 no longer needed to waste time, effort and expense on further medical evaluation. Ergometry in a THP serves as a medical check and as a means to decide the strength of exercise before the initiation of exercise training, which is very important in preventing coronary artery disease, rather than in detecting the disease. Ergometry is expensive and it takes a lot of time and labor, but it is necessary in ensuring the safety of exercise training and in prescribing proper exercise. This analysis has shown that ergometry in THP is very useful and cost effective in improving the accuracy of health examinations.