Adherence to American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology guidelines for exercise tolerance test in cardiovascular clinics

Considering the increased expenditure in public health sector, especially the increased cost in hospitals and clinics, there is an urgent need to control these costs mainly by ensuring adherence to clinical guidelines for diagnostic procedures. In this study we aim to investigate the adherence of he...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cardiovascular and thoracic research 2019-01, Vol.11 (4), p.305-308
Main Authors: Hatam, Nahid, Razazi Khales, Vida, Askarian, Mehrdad, Zolghadrasli, Abdolali, Hooshmand, Shohre, Ostovan, Mohammadali
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
appropriate use criteria
Cardiology
Cardiovascular disease
Chronic illnesses
Clinics
Coronary vessels
Dyspnea
exercise test
Expenditures
Family medical history
Gender differences
guideline
Heart
Original
Pain
Patients
Public health
Questionnaires
Studies
Womens health
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Summary:Considering the increased expenditure in public health sector, especially the increased cost in hospitals and clinics, there is an urgent need to control these costs mainly by ensuring adherence to clinical guidelines for diagnostic procedures. In this study we aim to investigate the adherence of heart clinics to guideline for exercise tolerance test. This cross-sectional study was performed on 308 patients who were referred for ECG exercise test in 3 clinics located in the city of Shiraz, Iran in 2018. Demographic and clinical data were recorded and the indications of exercise test for each patient was reviewed according to the ACC/AHA guideline for exercise tolerance test. Exercise tests were found to be inappropriately done in 121 (39.3%) participants. Among the patients for whom the test was done without indication 79 (65.3%) were women and the gender difference was statistically significant ( 0.05). This study confirms that more than one third of exercise tests done in the participants are inappropriate. Wide availability of exercise test makes it vulnerable to overuse and additional unnecessary cost to health care systems.
ISSN:2008-5117
2008-6830
DOI:10.15171/jcvtr.2019.49