Collaborative Research and Support of Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center DWHResearch Program Projects. Chest Pain Syndromes in Active Duty Females: Screening and Diagnosis. Protocol 2

摘要

The aim of the study has been to establish the incidence of various etiologies ofchest pain in active duty women and to improve the accuracy, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness with which we are able to confirm or exclude cardiac disease in women with chest pain and then, if cardiac pathology is eliminated, to expedite the determination and treatment of the true cause. Our stated goal has been to enter 100 women between 18 and 70. As of 31 July 95, twenty women have been enrolled in the study. Preliminary data demonstrates a high rate of cardiac catheterization in women enrolled because of the high incidence of inconclusive reporting from nuclear stress testing (cardiolite GXT). There has been a problem with readings indicating artifact and breast attenuation, or shifting breast attenuation making definitive diagnosis difficult and necessitating cardiac catheterization.