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Differentiating Syndrome X from Coronary Artery Disease by Treadmill Exercise Test in Patients with Chest Pain and Exercise-Induced Myocardial Ischemia

Jaw-Wen Chen

Shu-Long Jen

Benjamin Ing-Tiau Kuo

Wen-Lieng Lee

Guang-Yuan Mar

Shing-Jong Lin

Shih-Pu Wang

Mau-Song Chang

Jaw-Wen Chen, MD

Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine Veterans General Hospital-Taipei 201, Sec. 2, Shih-Pai Road Taipei, Taiwan 112, ROC

Even though the underlying mechanisms of myocardial ischemia may be different, it is difficult to differentiate syndrome X from coronary artery disease (CAD) by means of the treadmill exercise test in elderly patients with chest pain and exercise-induced myocar dial ischemia.

One hundred sex- and age-matched patients—42 with syndrome X and 58 with CAD—were studied. Another 10 subjects with atypical chest pain, negative treadmill exercise test, and normal-appearing coronary angiograms served as controls. We evaluated the difference in exercise performance between patients with syndrome X and CAD, and the treadmill exercise test was undertaken with modified Bruce protocol within 2 weeks before coronary angiography. Parameters including time to 1 mm ST segment depression (STD), exercise duration (ED), heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure, rate- pressure product (RPP), and percentage of age-predicted maximum HR (% HR) at different stages of the test were measured and then compared among the three groups of patients.

Compared with CAD patients, syndrome X patients had significantly higher HR, % HR, and RPP at the time of 1 mm STD and at peak exercise. The time to 1 mm STD and ED were longer in syndrome X than in CAD patients. However, ED was shorter and HR, % HR, and RPP at peak exercise were similar in syndrome X patients as compared with control subjects. The new criterion of combined ED (315 seconds) and RPP at peak exercise (24,000 beats x mmHg/min) was found to be highly specific (86%) and moder ately sensitive (64%) in differentiating syndrome X from CAD patients. The positive like lihood ratio for this criterion was 4.57 and negative likelihood ratio was 0.42.

In conclusion, syndrome X patients had better exercise performance than CAD patients, but less ED and similar workload when compared with control subjects. The new criterion proposed in this study may provide a quick and simple way to differentiate syndrome X from CAD in a group of aged and predominantly male patients with chest pain and positive treadmill exercise test.

Angiology, Vol. 49, No. 1, 13-24 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/000331979804900102


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