Importance of exercise capacity in the interpretation of a myocardial ischemic response to exercise testing. Multicenter Study of Myocardial Ischemia Group (MSMI).

Patients who were stable 1 to 6 months after a cardiac event underwent routine exercise testing with thallium scintigraphy. The prognosis of patients with good exercise capacity (Bruce stage 3) was similar whether or not ischemia was demonstrated and similar to patients with reduced exercise capacity and no ischemia, whereas the presence of both ischemia and a reduced exercise tolerance identified patients with a significantly poorer prognosis.