False Positive Supraventricular Tachycardia During Exercise Stress Test.

Abstract

Exercise stress testing is crucial for assessing myocardial ischemia. However, artifacts from algorithmic interpretation and limitations of linked median algorithms can lead to false-positive findings. A female patient, age 63 years, underwent treadmill stress testing for atypical chest pain. Linked median analysis showed narrow complex tachycardia at 270 bpm during the stress test. Having supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) with a heart rate of 260 bpm would be extremely uncommon in a patient 63 years of age, especially without symptoms. The patient was initially planned for inpatient admission, but the raw electrocardiogram (ECG) confirmed sinus tachycardia. This case emphasizes the need for verification of synthesized ECG to avoid false-positive arrhythmia diagnoses.