ABSTRACT
Early echocardiographic studies demonstrated regional wall motion abnormalities (WMAs) which persisted for up to 30 minutes post-exercise.11 Radio nuclide abnormalities of diastole have been shown to persist for up to 48 hours following exercise.12 Reversible systolic dysfunction which persisted for up to 1 hour, and diastolic dysfunction for up to 4 hours following exercise-induced ischemia, has been demonstrated in up to 80% of patients with severe coronary artery disease.13 Simultaneous measurement of contractile function and flow (using 2D echocardiography and Tc-sestamibi respectively) has shown that these functional changes persist when myocardial perfusion has normalized, which proves that the abnormalities are due to myocardial stunning.14
