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Value of Treadmill Exercise Testing in Patients With Complete Bundle Branch Block

Department of Medicine, Section of Cardiology, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center and Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois

Julio C. Teran

Department of Medicine, Section of Cardiology, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center and Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois

Exercise electrocardiography and selective coronary arteriography was per formed in 24 consecutive patients with complete bundle branch block. The criteria for a positive exercise electrocardiogram (E-ECG) were a 1 mm depres sion or elevation in the J point from the control state, as well as in the ST segment measured at 0.04 seconds from the J point.

Eleven of 12 patients with complete left bundle branch block had a positive E-ECG. Nine of them had normal coronary arteriograms, except one with less than 50% lesions in two arteries. Two patients had severe three-vessel disease. Only one patient had a true negative exercise test. No patient had a false negative test.

Nine of 12 patients with complete right bundle branch block had a positive E-ECG. One of these 9 had minimal nonobstructive disease, while the other 8 had severe two- or three-vessel coronary artery disease. Three of the 12 right bundle branch block patients had a negative E-ECG. Two of them had a true negative exercise test, and one a false negative test.

Because of a high incidence of probably false positive results, E-ECG appears to be unreliable in detecting coronary artery disease in patients with complete left bundle branch block. But it can provide useful information in the non- invasive evaluation of coronary artery disease in patients with complete right bundle branch block.

Angiology, Vol. 30, No. 6, 395-406 (1979)
DOI: 10.1177/000331977903000603


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