Adjunctive application of handgrip exercise associated with dobutamine stress echocardiography

Abstract

Stress echocardiography is today the best possible imaging choice in the field of noninvasive diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) and Dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiography (DASE) have been studied. Handgrip (HG) exercise has been rarely studied in stress echocardiography. We present a case of the use of isometric HG exercise with DSE in a 78-year-old Italian man. This case is illustrative of the safety, feasibility and efficacy of the use of isometric HG exercise with DSE and on the fact that it improves diagnostic capacity of the test.