Safety and efficacy of exercise testing with atropine in patients with recent uncomplicated ST elevation acute myocardial infarction

Background: Exercise testing (ET) remains the most accessible and widely used technique for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) and for the assessment of its severity. Failure to reach 85% of maximal predicted heart rate (MPHR) during exercise may render an ET nondiagnostic for ischemia detection in patients with recent uncomplicated ST elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI). We sought to investigate the injection of atropine in patients who fail to achieve 85% of age-predicted heart rate during ET, defining its safety and efficacy to raise heart rate to adequate levels as well as to determine its effect on ET interpretation. Methods: Between January 2005 and December 2008…