The Significance of QRS duration during exercise test in patients with coronary artery disease

Objectives To investigate the significance of QRS duration during treadmill test in patients with coronary artery disease. Methods QRS duration was measured before and after treadmill exercise test in 62 patients with coronary artery disease and 16 patients with normal coronary arteries identified by coronary angiography. Results QRS duration was obviously shorter right after exercise than those before exercise in 16 patients with normal coronary arteries(P0.05),but prolong in 62 patients with coronary artery disease (P0.01); Exercise induced QRS duration prolongation was directly related to the number of diseased vessels. QRS prolongation had a diagnostic sensitivity of 72.6%, specificity of 93.8%,accuracy of 97.8%, for diagnosing of coronary artery disease. Conclusions Exercise-induced QRS prolongation in patients with coronary artery disease is a marker of exercise-induced myocardial ischemia; QRS duration during exercise treadmill test could be used as a sensitive and specific index for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease.