Objective: To specify the diagnostic value of treadmill tests conducted in primary health care by trained GPs for working-aged patients.
Design: A two-year follow-up study.
Setting: Kangasala Health Centre, Finland.
Subjects: All patients under the age of 60 (n = 348) examined by exercise treadmill test carried out by trained GPs during a period of three years.
Main outcome measures: The number of patients having a diagnosis of coronary heart disease at the end of two years' follow-up. Predictive values of the exercise test.
Results: During the two years' follow-up period CHD was diagnosed in six of the patients who did not yield a positive finding in the test. A negative finding in the test was very reliable; coronary heart disease manifested in only 2% of these cases. Almost half of the patients yielding a positive finding ended up having coronary angiography and 1 in 10 underwent coronary bypass surgery.
Conclusion: Among working-aged patients suspected of coronary heart disease an exercise treadmill test may predict clinical outcome in general practice.