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The cardiointegram: Detection of coronary artery disease in males with chest pain and a normal resting electrocardiogram

1986; Elsevier BV; Volume: 19; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0022-0736(86)80035-8

1532-8430

Louis E. Teichholz, Marilyn Y. Steinmetz, Doris J.W. Escher, Michael V. Herman, Shapur Naimi, Donald V. Mahony, Myrvin Ellestad,

Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control

The cardiointegram is a non-invasive technique for the analysis of the electrical signals of the heart obtained by a transformation of the voltage vs. time format by a series of integration. This multicenter study compares the results of the cardiointegram with coronary arteriography in 140 male patients with chest pain and a normal resting electrocardiogram. The cardiointegram was determined on two resting complexes of Leads I, II, V4, V5, and V6 and called abnormal if≥four of ten complexes were abnormal, i.e., fell outside of a previously determined template of normality. The sensitivity was 73% and specificity was 78% for the diagnosis of occlusive coronary artery disease. When≥five of ten abnormal complexes were used as the cut-off for an abnormal test and “equivocal” results (four of ten abnormal, n=18) were excluded from analysis there was a sensitivity of 69% and specificity of 88%. Thirty-seven of 38 patients (97%) with an abnormal cardiointegram and a positive exercise stress test had coronary artery disease. Thus, the cardiointegram appears to be a useful non-invasive test for the detection of coronary artery disease in males with chest pain and a normal resting electrocardiogram in whom the diagnosis of coronary artery disease is being considered.