Aim: To study informative value of dobutrex echocardiography (DEC) in diagnosis of myocardial ischemia and viability, in prognostication of angina pectoris and myocardial infarction (MI), evaluation of DEC side effects.
Material and methods: DEC was conducted in 74 patients with unconfirmed diagnosis (they had ischemic heart disease risk factors, atypical cardialgia) and 32 ischemic heart disease patients.
Results: DEC proved to be an effective diagnostic tool in diagnosis of myocardial ischemia in patients with new-onset atypical cardialgia (informative value 73.6%). This test gives prognosis of the disease and improves treatment policy in patients with angina of effort and MI. The most serious and frequent side effects of DEC arising at the highest dobutrex dose were paroxysmal tachycardias (3.76%) and ventricular arrhythmias (6.58%). In most cases (99.1%) they discontinued after the test and did not require antiarrhythmic treatment. Thus, the test is relatively safe.
Conclusion: Echocardiography with dobutrex load should be used in practical cardiology more intensively.