[Value of dipyridamole-atropine stress echocardiography for detection of patients with restenosis after PTCA].

UNLABELLED

Stress-Echocardiography has been proven to be a valuable method in the diagnosis of patients with suspected coronary artery disease. It has been demonstrated that the addition of atropine can increase the sensitivity of pharmacological stress-echocardiography-tests. The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic potential of dipyridamole-atropine-echocardiography for the detection of restenosis after coronary angioplasty. We investigated 50 patients 3-6 months after primary successful coronary angioplasty. Restenosis was defined as recurrence of stenosis of > or = 70% at the site of dilatation determined by quantitative coronary angiography. All patients were investigated on antianginal medication and underwent control-coronary angiography within 1-3 days after the echocardiographic study. In 17/23 patients with restenosis, the dipyridamole-atropine-stress-test was pathologic (sensitivity 74%), in 25/27 patients without significant restenosis the echocardiography stress-test was normal (specificity 93%). In 6 patients with restenosis and an unsuspicious stress-test, the percent diameter of restenosis did not exceed > or = 90% lumen narrowing, restenosis of the LAD was correctly identified in all patients (n = 11). The diagnostic accuracy of the dipyridamole-atropine-stress-test for the detection of patients with restenosis after PTCA in our study was 84%, the positive predictive value of a pathologic echocardiography stress-test for the detection of significant restenosis was 89%, the negative predictive value was 81%.

CONCLUSIONS

Dipyridamole-atropine-echocardiography has diagnostic potential for non-invasive assessment of patients after coronary angioplasty. In patients with a normal echocardiographic stress-test, the probability of significant restenosis is considerably low, even if restenosis cannot be definitely excluded.