| Abstract: | Forty-three patients with the sick sinus syndrome (SSS) and 74 normal persons were examined. All the patients were subjected to bicycle ergometry. The lower limits of normal for the heart rate (HR) (in men and women separately) were established during exercise of varying intensity. In 66.7% of patients with the SSS, the HR during exercise was under normal. In a significant part of SSS patients, the reduction of the HR after exercise proceeded more rapidly than in normal subjects. The authors suggest a heart rate retardation index (HRRI) for recognizing the SSS, the diagnostic importance of which rises with an increase in the exercise intensity. The total sensitivity of both indices (the HR at the end of exercise and the HRRI) reaches 100%. It is concluded that the exercise test can be used for preliminary screening of patients with the SSS. |
