Circulation. Cardiovascular imaging
-
Circ Cardiovasc Imaging · Mar 2013
Incremental diagnostic and prognostic value of contemporary stress echocardiography in a chest pain unit: mortality and morbidity outcomes from a real-world setting.
Clinical assessment often cannot reliably or rapidly risk stratify patients hospitalized with suspected acute coronary syndrome. The real-world clinical value of stress echocardiography (SE) in these patients is unknown. Thus, we undertook this study to assess the feasibility, safety, ability for early triaging, and prediction of hard events of SE incorporated into a chest pain unit for patients admitted with acute chest pain, nondiagnostic ECG, and negative 12-hour troponin. ⋯ SE incorporated into a chest pain unit has excellent feasibility and provides rapid assessment and discharge with accurate risk stratification of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome but nondiagnostic ECG and negative 12-hour troponin.