PMID: 9172935Mar 1, 1997Paper

Significance of hypotension and vasovagal reflex during echo-stress using high doses of dobutamine

Cardiologia : bollettino della Società italiana di cardiologia
S ScanduraG Giuffrida

Abstract

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the main causes of cardiovascular morbility and mortality. Actual research lines are directed towards the discovery of silent CAD before hard events as myocardial infarction and sudden death. Dobutamine stress echocardiography is an useful method to assess patients with suspected CAD who, are not able to stand an effort because of physical reasons. During the test, hypotension and/or bradycardia may occur and may cause interruption of the test. The aim of our study was to consider prevalence, meaning and clinical implications of hypotensive, sometimes associated to bradycardia, during dobutamine stress echocardiography. From April 1994 to June 1996, 363 consecutive patients (267 men and 96 women with an average age of 59.3 +/- 10 year) were examined because of suspected or known ischemic cardiopathy. All patients underwent dobutamine stress echocardiography and coronary arteriography. Neither hypotension nor bradycardia was noted in 285 of our patients (78.51%), while in the remaining 78 patients (21.48%) there was a pressure drop > or = 20 mmHg; bradycardia appeared in 6 patients. The study shows that it does not exist a statistically significant difference between the percentage of the ...Continue Reading

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