ACUTE CORONARY THROMBOTIC OCCLUSION FOLLOWING EXERCISE TESTING 6 WEEKS AFTER PERCUTANEOUS TRANSLUMINAL CORONARY ANGIOPLASTY

Exercise stress testing is often performed following percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in order to evaluate the efficacy of the procedure [1]. Together with thallium-201 (T1-201) scintigraphy, these noninvasive tests provide valuable data for predicting the recurrence of angina and restenosis [2]. However, concerns regarding the safe timing of exercise testing post-PTCA have been raised in 3 previous case reports [3-5]. Each case documents acute coronary occlusion shortly after stress testing performed within several days of successful angioplasty, leading to the recommendation that such testing be deferred up to 4 weeks following PTCA. This paper reports a patient in whom acute thrombotic occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) occurred immediately after a mildly abnormal exercise T1-201 stress test done 6 weeks after PTCA.