The value of electrocardiogram monitoring during treadmill testing for peripheral vascular disease.

In evaluating the arterial hemodynamics of the lower extremities in patients with peripheral vascular disease, the treadmill exercise test offers useful information concerning the peripheral circulation. The addition of electrocardiographic (EKG) monitoring during the treadmill examination provides a method of estimating the effectiveness of coronary circulation. In three groups of patients studied, the results demonstrated that EKG monitoring during the treadmill exercise test will reveal previously unsuspected arrhythmias and ischemia. Thus the safety of the patient is enhanced. In patients followed through the operative period, there was a high correlation between exercise-induced EKG changes and perioperative cardiac problems. The value of EKG monitoring during treadmill testing is clear and offers predictive information to the surgeon contemplating a revascularization procedure.