Key result
Female sex was associated with a 21.1% rate of false-positive exercise stress echocardiography results compared to 17.4% in males, with arterial hypertension predicting false-positives only in women.
Why the study?
Does bicycle-exercise stress-echocardiography have sex-specific differences in test accuracy and predictors of coronary intervention in patients with suspected or known CAD?
Observational (n=126)
No
Does bicycle-exercise stress-echocardiography have sex-specific differences in test accuracy and predictors of coronary intervention in patients with suspected or known CAD?
Absolute Event Rate: 21.1% vs 17.4%
p-value: p=0.625
Exercise stress echocardiography exhibits significant sex-specific differences, with peak systolic blood pressure strongly predicting the need for coronary intervention in women but not men.
Higher false-positive rates on exercise stress echo may warrant cautious interpretation in women with hypertension; leaves open sex-specific test accuracy for prospective validation.
Background: Sex-specific differences for myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease (CAD) have been reported in several studies.The aim of our present study was to identify gender-specific differences regarding bicycle-exercise-stress-echocardiography.Methods: We compared 87 (69.0%) male and 39 (31.0%) female patients with suspected or known stable coronary artery disease (CAD), who underwent bicycle-exercise stress-echocardiography. Results: False-positive exercise-test results were more prevalent in females (21.1% vs. 17.4%) and arterial hypertension was connected with false-positive results in women only.In males, higher peak-exercise heart-rate was accompanied by lower risk of false-positive stress-echocardiography results.Higher systolic peak blood pressure during exercise was related to a higher risk for pending coronary artery interventions in females, whereas higher peak heart-rate during exercise was accompanied by a lower risk for pending coronary artery interventions also in females.Conclusions: Exercise-echocardiography demonstrated significant sex-specific differences.Higher efforts during stress-test lead to better test-accuracy.
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Keller et al. (2018) conducted an observational in Suspected or known stable coronary artery disease (n=126). Female sex vs. Male sex was evaluated on False-positive exercise stress echocardiography result (p=0.625). Female sex was associated with a 21.1% rate of false-positive exercise stress echocardiography results compared to 17.4% in males, with arterial hypertension predicting false-positives only in women.
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