Accuracy of a pretest questionnaire in exercise test protocol selection

Exercise test guidelines emphasize the importance of selecting an appropriate exercise test protocol for each patient to attain a test duration of 6 to 12 minutes.(1-6) This duration allows adequate time for observation of the patient's subjective and physiologic responses to exercise stress. Proper protocol selection also aims to optimize patient comfort and enhance provider-patient interaction during testing. Protocols that are too vigorous for a given patient may lead to a premature termination of the test, thus leading to an underestimation of exercise capacity and limiting the amount of data that can be collected. Conversely, protocols that are too easy may lead to excessively prolonged test durations which are inefficient for the patient and laboratory staff. This study (1) evaluates the accuracy of a pretest activity questionnaire in predicting exercise capacity for exercise test protocol selection, and (2) compares the accuracy of this questionnaire when ramp protocols versus step protocols are used.