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Exercise testing in patients with chest pain to sumatriptan
J P Ottervanger1, J C Hoorntje, H A Valkenburg
1Department of Cardiology, Hospital De Weezenlanden, JW Zwolle, The Netherlands.
The Netherlands Journal of Medicine
|January 12, 1999
Summary
Chest pain after sumatriptan (a medication for migraines) is not linked to abnormal cardiac exercise tests. Routine exercise testing is not recommended for patients experiencing this side effect.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pharmacology
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Sumatriptan is a widely used medication for migraine treatment.
- Chest pain is a reported side effect of sumatriptan.
- The cardiac implications of sumatriptan-induced chest pain require investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if chest pain associated with sumatriptan use correlates with abnormal cardiac exercise testing.
- To evaluate the necessity of routine cardiac exercise tests in patients experiencing sumatriptan-related chest pain.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study was conducted.
- Cases comprised sumatriptan users reporting chest pain; controls were sumatriptan users without chest pain, matched for age and gender.
- Symptom-limited exercise tests were performed on 74 cases and 55 controls.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in basic characteristics were observed between cases and controls, apart from a slight age difference.
- ST-depression on ECG during exercise was found in three cases but did not represent a statistically significant difference.
- Key variables measured during exercise testing showed no significant divergence between the groups.
Conclusions:
- The prevalence of abnormal exercise tests in patients with sumatriptan-induced chest pain is low.
- There is no statistically significant difference in abnormal exercise test results between patients with and without sumatriptan-associated chest pain.
- Routine exercise testing is not advised for evaluating sumatriptan-induced chest pain.