Method and system for evaluating cardiac ischemia with an abrupt stop exercise protocol

摘要

A method of assessing cardiac ischemia in a subject to provide a measure of cardiac or cardiovascular health in that subject is described herein. The method comprises the steps of: (a) collecting a first RR-interval data set from the subject during a stage of gradually increasing heart rate (e.g., a stage of gradually increasing exercise load); (b) collecting a second RR-interval data set from the subject during a stage of gradually decreasing heart rate (e.g., a stage of gradually decreasing exercise load, or a stage of rest following an abrupt stop of exercise in a patient with coronary artery disease); (c) comparing the first RR-interval data set to the second RR-interval data set to determine the difference between the data sets; and (d) generating from the comparison of step (c) a measure of cardiac ischemia during exercise in the subject. A greater difference between the first and second data sets indicates greater cardiac ischemia and lesser cardiac or cardiovascular health in the subject. The data sets are collected in such a manner that they reflect almost exclusively the conduction in the heart muscle and minimize the effect on the data sets of rapid transients due to autonomic nervous system and hormonal control.