Repeated Treadmill Exercise Testing Soon After Myocardial Infarction

To determine the response to repeated treadmill exercise testing soon after uncomplicated myocardial infarction, 24 males (mean age 54 6 years) performed two symptom-limited tests several days apart 3, 7 and 11 weeks after the acute event. Significant within-week differences were noted for peak exercise tolerance (mets) and peak heart rate at 7 weeks (p < 0.05). Significant within-week differences in these variables were not noted for other weeks or for systolic blood pressure or heart rate-systolic blood pressure product for any of the three test periods. No significant within-week differences were noted for any variable recorded at a submaximal work load of 4 mets. The frequency of exercise-induced ischemic ST-segment depression, angina pectoris and premature ventricular complexes did not change from visit to visit and was highly reproducible (p < 0.01). All test variables measured at peak exercise increased significantly between 3 and 11 weeks after infarction. We conclude that cardiovascular responses to symptom-limited exercise testing