Cardiac Rupture during Dobutamine Stress Test
Authors: Barbara Reisenhofer
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1998)

Letters1 April 1998Cardiac Rupture during Dobutamine Stress TestBarbara Reisenhofer, MD, Giulinno Squarcini, MD, and Eugenio Picano, MD, PhDBarbara Reisenhofer, MDInstitute of Clinical Physiology; 56100 Pisa, ItalySearch for more papers by this author, Giulinno Squarcini, MDInstitute of Clinical Physiology; 56100 Pisa, ItalySearch for more papers by this author, and Eugenio Picano, MD, PhDInstitute of Clinical Physiology; 56100 Pisa, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-128-7-199804010-00032 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Dobutamine stress echocardiography is widely used to diagnose coronary artery disease [1], but the safety of this testing procedure is uncertain. Major life-threatening complications-primarily sustained ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, myocardial infarction, and cardiac asystole-have been reported to occur in 1 of 300 tests in large series [2, 3]. We report one case of cardiac rupture and death during low-dose dobutamine stress echocardiography done in a 66-year-old patient with recent myocardial infarction admitted to a coronary care unit.During the first 3 days after admission, mild left ventricular failure requiring diuresis and an episode of atrial fibrillation treated ...References1. Picano E, Mathias W Jr. Pingitore A, Bigi R, Previtali M. Safety and tolerability of dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiography: a prospective, large scale, multicentre trial. Lancet. 1994; 344:1190-2. Google Scholar2. Secknus MA, Marwick TH. Evolution of dobutamine echocardiography protocols and indications: safety and side effects in 3,011 studies over 5 years. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1997; 29:1234-40. Google Scholar3. Cheitlin MS, Alpert JS, Armstrong WF, Aurigemma GP, Beller GA, Bierman FZ, et al. ACC/AHA guidelines for the clinical application of echocardiography: executive summary. A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Committee on Clinical Application of Echocardiography). J Am Coll Cardiol. 1997; 29:862-79. Google Scholar4. Don Michael AT. Implications for cost-effectiveness. Am J Cardiol. 1996; 77:190. Google Scholar5. Bernardino L. Dobutamine, dipyridamole and stress echocardiography [Letter]. Circulation. 1996; 94:2989. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Institute of Clinical Physiology; 56100 Pisa, Italy PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byDobutamine Stress EchocardiographyDobutamine Stress EchocardiographySafety of Stress Echocardiography Supervised by Registered Nurses: Results of a 2-Year Audit of 15,404 PatientsVentricular Fibrillation in Late Recovery After Dobutamine Stress EchocardiographyCardiac rupture during contrast-enhanced dobutamine stress echocardiographyCardiac rupture complicating myocardial infarctionEnoximone very low–dose dobutamine stress echocardiography: a new test for detecting viability in severe myocardial dysfunction after acute myocardial infarctionDobutamine Stress EchocardiographyGeneralized tetany: An unusual complication during dobutamine stress echocardiographyRotura de la pared libre del ventrículo izquierdo durante prueba de estrés con dobutaminaAcute cardiac rupture during dobutamine-atropine echocardiographystress testReplyFatal ventricular fibrillation during a low-dose dobutamine stress testAcute Cardiac Rupture During Dobutamine-Atropine Echocardiography Stress TestDobutamine Stress EchocardiographyDobutamine 1 April 1998Volume 128, Issue 7Page: 605KeywordsEchocardiographyExerciseHeart rateInfarctionMyocardial infarctionPharmacologic stress testingSafetyStable coronary artery diseaseVentricular fibrillationVentricular tachycardia Issue Published: 1 April 1998 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1998 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...