Talking to patients provides more information on heart disease than tests

A study, published by the British Medical Journal, that followed over 8000 patients with suspected angina says that an ECG is less use than asking the patient specific questions and examining them. However, there are circumstances in which the ECG is useful, researchers stressed.

The study looked specifically at the exercise ECG - or stress test. The study compared the outcomes in patients, 60% of whom had had an exercise ECG, who were all followed up for a few years. Almost half of the coronary events, such as heart attack or angina, over the follow-up period, occurred in patients whose exercise ECG had been normal at the start of the study. A routine medical examination, in which a history is taken and a thorough examination performed, was almost as good as the exercise ECG in predicting future cardiac disease.

Researchers suggest that the exercise ECG is of limited value in patients with no prior history of heart disease.