Detection of Restenosis following Percutaneous Coronary Angioplasty in Single-Vessel Coronary Artery Disease: The Value of Clinical Assessment and Exercise Tolerance Testing

Abstract

Chest pain and submaximal exercise testing were prospectively assessed over a 6-month period, for detecting the evolution of restenosis in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary angioplasty, following either acute myocardial infarction or treatment of an anginal syndrome. Seventy-eight patients with one-vessel coronary artery disease underwent a modified treadmill exercise test at the 1-week, 3-month and 6-month follow-up after angioplasty, when a final angiogram was also performed. Forty-four patients (group A) were examined after myocardial infarction; in 34 patients (group B) angioplasty was done for incapacitating angina. Both groups showed similar results with low sensitivity and relatively moderate specificity of both chest pain and exercise tests; this was also the case for the time of restenosis to occur. It is thus concluded that the parameters examined are somewhat limited markers of restenosis following coronary angioplasty.