Purpose: To analyze the diagnostic accuracy of dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiography.
Methods: We studied 304 consecutive patients using dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiography who underwent coronary angiography within a month of the exam. Patients received high dobutamine doses associated or not with atropine.
Results: The global sensitivity was 92%, specificity was 72% and diagnostic accuracy was 87%. Analyzing 120 patients with normal LV function, we found sensitivity of 85%, specificity of 79% and accuracy of 82%.
Conclusion: Dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiography is an accurate method for the detection of coronary artery disease.