Role of exercise testing and stress thallium scintigraphy in the management of old men with suspected or documented coronary artery disease.

From 217 old men submitted to a symptom-limited maximal exercise test, 145 had also an exercise thallium scintigraphy; 44 of those patients were submitted to an angiography. The decision to perform angiography in these aged patients was based mostly on their history and their complaints. This decision was likely influenced by the results of the exercise test; even in symptomatic patients, angiography was rarely performed when the exercise data were normal (normal ECG, no angina during the test). The thallium scintigraphy was not a major element in the overall clinical decision making: when the scintigraphy was available, it contributed, however, to refine the decision whether or not to perform an angiography.