The clinical importance of electrocardiographic changes during pharmacologic stress testing with radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging

Conclusion  Radionuclide MPI has become a reliable tool for the detection and surveillance of suspected or known CAD, regardless of whether it is used in combination with exercise or pharmacologic stress agents. The presence of an abnormal electrocardiogram, especially during a pharmacologic stress test, may indicate an elevated risk of multivessel CAD and higher annualized cardiac event rates. Therefore the presence of ischemic ECG changes should prompt further evaluation, even in the presence of normal MPI.