This study examined the value of wall motion scores at rest and with low- and high-dose dobutamine infusion for prediction of outcome and benefit from revascularization in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. Follow-up was obtained in 139 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy who had echocardiography at rest, and during low- (10 microg/kg/min) and high-dose dobutamine (maximal dose 50 microg/kg/min) infusion. Both rest and low-dose wall motion scores were multivariate predictors of cardiac death, but ischemia and peak dose scores were not predictors. Rest scores risk stratified patients into 3 groups: score (1.00 to 1.99) with 11% cardiac death; score (2.00 to 2.49) with 30% death; and score > or =2.50 with 47% death. One third of patients with rest scores > or =2.50 had improvement in scores to < 2.50 with low-dose dobutamine. Their frequency of cardiac death was reduced to 23% compared with 60% (p = 0.04) in those who remained with low-dose scores > or =2.50. Low-dose scores also identified those who benefited from revascularization. In patients with low-dose scores (1.00 to 1.99), the frequency of cardiac death was marginally lower in revascularized than nonrevascularized patients (10% vs 21%, p = 0.28). In patients with scores (2.00 to 2.49), revascularized patients had a significantly lower frequency of cardiac death than nonrevascularized patients (15% vs 41%, p < 0.05). The frequency of death in those with low-dose scores > or =2.50 was very high in both revascularized (75%) and nonrevascularized (56%, p = 0.42) patients. Thus, rest and low-dose wall motion scores enable risk stratification of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and identify those who do and do not benefit from revascularization.