Early exercise testing after acute myocardial infarction in the elderly: Clinical evaluation and prognostic significance

Abstract Early exercise testing (EET) after acute myocardial infarction (MI) is a well-established means of detecting patients at high risk for subsequent cardiac events. However, the value of this test is not well documented in elderly patients. We evaluated the clinical and prognostic significance of EET in 188 patients, aged 70 years or more, 14 ± 3 days after an uncomplicated acute MI. The mean follow-up period was 3.6 years (range 1 to 6 years) in 95% of the patients. The total mortality rate was 13.5% (24178) and the cardiac-related mortality rate was 7.8% (14178), with 64% of the deaths occurring in the first 3 years. There were no complications during EET. The following parameters measured during EET on a bicycle ergometer were predictive of subsequent. cardiac death: an increase in systolic blood pressure of less than 30 mm Hg ( p p p p p p