American heart journal
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American heart journal · Mar 2012
Comparative StudyDownstream procedures and outcomes after stress testing for chest pain without known coronary artery disease in the United States.
Millions of Americans with suspected coronary artery disease undergo noninvasive cardiac stress testing annually. Downstream procedures and subsequent outcomes among symptomatic patients without known coronary disease referred for stress testing are not well characterized in contemporary community practice. ⋯ In this large national cohort of middle-aged patients without previously coded cardiac diagnosis who were referred for stress testing after outpatient chest pain evaluation, few proceeded to invasive angiography or revascularization, and subsequent cardiovascular events were infrequent.