The American journal of cardiology
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Comparative Study
Comparison of right atrial pacing soon after myocardial infarction with treadmill testing 6 months later.
Seventy-four patients recovering from acute myocardial infarction underwent right atrial pacing before hospital discharge, and treadmill exercise testing 6 months later. The early right atrial pacing test was positive in 32 patients (43 percent) and the late treadmill test was positive in 32 patients (42 percent). The results of the two tests were concordant in 77 percent of the patients, 23 with an ischemic response and 34 with a normal response on both tests. ⋯ This finding may explain the similar frequency of ischemic responses to the two tests. These results indicate that the response to right atrial pacing soon after myocardial infarction is a good predictor for the presence or absence of an ischemic response to treadmill testing 6 months later. Thus, early right atrial pacing at the time of hospital discharge may be used to determine the pace of rehabilitation and short-term prognosis.