Comparison of ECG-based clinical indexes during exercise test

Here, the authors have compared clinical indexes based on ECG changes found on the ventricular depolarization and repolarization periods in high-resolution exercise test ECGs. Stress echocardiography and coronary angiography were considered as gold standards to label two groups of patients (healthy and ischemic). ST segment deviations and Q, R and S waves amplitudes were automatically measured and included in a multivariate discriminant analysis to automatically classify the patients in the two groups. Results showed that QRS amplitude changes provide a closer description of the heart response to exercise test than ST deviations do (sensitivity/specificity of 79/71% vs 55/69%, respectively)