Use of atropine in patients with recent myocardial infarction during exercise myocardial perfusion study

Abstract

Pre-stress administration of atropine in patients with recent myocardial infarction is safe and results in a significantly better exercise performance, which might be useful in decreasing the number of equivocal myocardial perfusion studies.

Atropine for exercise testing after acute myocardial infarction

“…Since then, the role of atropine during exercise tolerance test alone or coupled with an imaging technique has been investigated in patients with suspected or known CAD who fail to achieve the target heart rate and have not reached an ischaemic endpoint [19][20][21]. In this issue of the journal, Barai and colleagues studied the feasibility and safety profile of intravenous atropine in patients undergoing exercise thallium-201 MPS within 3-6 weeks after an uncomplicated AMI [22]. Forty-three patients received 0.01 mg/kg of atropine 3 min before exercise treadmill test while another 43 did not, and they comprised the control group.…”