Does the lack of hyperkinesis during dobutamine stress echocardiography predict the functional significance of coronary arterial stenosis?
The clinical implication of the lack of hyperkinesis during dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) has not been determined. We hypothesized that a lack of hyperkinesis during graded doses of dobutamine infusion would reflect the severity of coronary flow abnormality distal to the stenosis and provide the functional significance of coronary arterial stenosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of the lack of hyperkinesis in patients with normal coronary arteries and to determine its value in patients with single-vessel disease. A total of 63 consecutive patients who subsequently revealed angiographically normal coronary arteries underwent DSE. Thirty-one consecutive patients with angina and single-vessel disease also underwent both DSE and exercise thallium single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). According to the response of wall motion during low and peak doses of dobutamine infusion, patients were divided into three groups (group A, hyperkines
