Adverse effects
| Adverse effect | Early atropine DSE | Conventional DSE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⩾70 years (n = 258) | <70 years (n = 258) | ⩾70 years (n = 290) | |
| Data are number (%) of patients. | |||
| *p<0.05 between patients ⩾70 and <70 years old in early atropine DSE; †p<0.05 between patients ⩾70 years in early atropine and conventional DSE. | |||
| VT, ventricular tachycardia. | |||
| Cardiac arrhythmias | |||
| Ventricular extrasystoles | 67 (25.9%) | 60 (23.2%) | 105 (36.2%)† |
| Supraventricular extrasystoles | 35 (13.6%) | 25 (9.7%) | 42 (14.5%) |
| Non-sustained VT | 4 (1.6%) | 1 (0.4%) | 15 (5.2%)† |
| Atrial fibrillation | 5 (1.9%) | 3 (1.2%) | 4 (1.3%) |
| Symptomatic bradycardia | 0 | 2 (0.7%) | 6 (2.1%)† |
| Chest pain | 26 (10.1%) | 23 (8.9%) | 38 (13.1%) |
| Nausea | 1 (0.4%) | 4 (1.5%) | 7 (2.4%) |
| Hypotension | 42 (16.2%) | 23 (9.6%)* | 66 (22.3%)† |
| Symptomatic hypotension | 3 (1.2%) | 5 (1.9%) | 11 (3.7%)† |
| Hypertension | 9 (3.5%) | 10 (3.9%) | 2 (0.7%)† |