Evidence on harms was limited , but direct harms seemed minimal ( for resting ECG ) or small ( for exercise ECG ) .
BACKGROUND Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in adults .
Screening for abnormalities by using resting or exercise electrocardiography ( ECG ) might help identify persons who would benefit from interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk .
PURPOSE To up date the 2004 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force evidence review on screening for  resting or exercise ECG abnormalities in asymptomatic adults .
Electrocardiographic findings and incident coronary heart disease among participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.
The associations of many electrocardiographic ( ECG ) abnormalities at rest with incident coronary heart disease ( CHD ) are not completely established , and whether individual ECG abnormalities convey similar risk across gender and race is uncertain . We studied the independent association of several ECG findings with incident CHD , testing for effect modification by gender and race , in a large , population -based , prospect i ve cohort study . Findings from the baseline 12-lead electrocardiograms in 1987 to 1989 were classified according to the Minnesota Code in 12,987 black and white men and women , aged 45 to 64 years , who were initially free of CHD and the use of specific cardiac medications . The incidence of CHD was ascertained through 2000 . After adjustment for multiple cardiovascular risk factors , the ECG findings that had the highest hazard rate ratios ( HRRs ) for incident CHD , when considered singly , were left ventricular hypertrophy with ST-T strain pattern in white men ( HRR 6.50 ) and in black women ( HRR 2.31 ) and , in the whole cohort , major ( HRR 2.27 ) and minor ( HRR 2.47 ) ST depression and major T-wave abnormalities ( HRR 2.12 ) . Statistically significant associations were also found in the whole cohort for minor Q waves and left ventricular hypertrophy by the Cornell definition , but not for a prolonged QTc interval , major ventricular conduction defects , or ST elevation . In conclusion , several 12-lead ECG findings were independently associated with incident CHD in middle-aged adults . With only a few exceptions , the associations were similar for blacks and whites
Evidence on harms was limited , but direct harms seemed minimal ( for resting ECG ) or small ( for exercise ECG ) .
BACKGROUND Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in adults .
Screening for abnormalities by using resting or exercise electrocardiography ( ECG ) might help identify persons who would benefit from interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk .
PURPOSE To up date the 2004 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force evidence review on screening for  resting or exercise ECG abnormalities in asymptomatic adults .