Exercise and Bayes’ Theorem: Some things never go out of style

Excerpt

Exercise stress testing with or without imaging is a mainstay in the diagnosis and management of known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). In an era where physicians face a dual mandate of reduction of risk of CAD morbidity while also minimizing economic costs, appropriate use of stress testing may provide valuable prognostic data to guide medical therapy and to select patients for invasive angiography. In order to limit excess testing which likely are to be low yield, stress imaging is usually reserved for those with an intermediate to high pretest risk of CAD and its complications, while low-risk patients who are able to exercise may be managed with exercise EKG alone.1 …