The safety of treadmill exercise stress testing in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms

Patricia J. Best, A. Jamil Tajik, Raymond J. Gibbons, Patricia A. Pellikka

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Exercise stress testing in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms may cause enlargement or rupture of aneurysms. Objective: To evaluate the safety of treadmill exercise stress testing in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms. Design: Retrospective descriptive study. Setting: Tertiary care center. Patients: 262 patients who had abdominal aortic aneurysms more than 4 cm in diameter and underwent treadmill exercise stress testing. Measurements: Pain after stress testing, rupture of the aneurysm or death, aneurysm size, and exercise stress test results. Results: The average aneurysm diameter was 5.5 ± 1.1 cm. One patient with a 6.1-cm aneurysm was found to have a contained rupture 12 hours after stress testing. The event rate for aneurysm rupture was 0.4% (95% CI, 0.0% to 2.1%). No deaths or other negative outcomes were documented. Conclusion: Despite theoretical concerns, exercise stress testing of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms seems to be safe and is associated with a low incidence of acute adverse events.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)628-631
Number of pages4
JournalAnnals of internal medicine
Volume129
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 15 1998

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Internal Medicine

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