Prognostic information from early post-infarction exercise testing.

Early post-myocardial infarction exercise testing has proved surprisingly safe. S-T elevations portended a bad prognosis as did also marked S-T segment depressions, especially if combined with premature ventricular contractions or short duration of exercise. A poor prognosis was also seen if, at low workloads, blood pressure could not reach 130 mm Hg, the heart rate did not rise above 130 beats per minute, or if there was angina. Complex arrhythmias were only of prognostic value as an independent variable with ambulatory monitoring. Negative findings were of more predictive value than positive results and have important therapeutic implications.