[Load tests in silent myocardial ischemia and latent heart failure in patients with IHD and intermittent claudication].

244 patients with ischemia of the lower limbs were treated surgically in the specialized cardiovascular center. No lethal outcomes were reported because previously derived algorithm of detecting silent myocardial ischemia in patients with intermittent claudication and load tests (bicycle ergometry and drug stress tests) had allowed the surgeons to ascertain the extent of coronary damage and detect subclinical cardiac failure. Valid assessment of cardiac factors enabled the right choice between surgical and therapeutic methods and staging of the procedures.