Ventricular arrhythmia during exercise predicts an increased cardiac mortality

Among 6101 normal men who underwent exercise testing and were followed for 23 years, the occurrence of ventricular premature beats (VPBs) during exercise testing was associated with a significantly higher all-cause mortality (41 versus 26 percent for no VPBs) and death from cardiovascular disease (16 versus 6.4 percent). After adjusting for age, tobacco use, diabetic status, body-mass index, level of physical activity, systolic blood pressure, the heart rate at rest, and total cholesterol level, the presence of VPBs prior to or during exercise was an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality (relative risk 2.53) and had the same prognostic value as exercise induced ischemia (relative risk 2.63).