False-positive electrocardiographic changes during exercise test in a patient with pectus excavatum.

ABSTRACT

Exercise-induced ST-segment changes simulating myocardial ischemia have been described in otherwise normal subjects during hyperventilation. We present the case of a 60-year-old man with pectus excavatum showing significant exercise-induced "pseudo-ischaemic" ST-segment changes with neither coronary artery disease nor anxiety-induced hyperventilation. We found no report of the possible causative role of a narrow antero-posterior chest diameter in inducing "pseudo-ischaemic" ST-segment changes during exercise stress test in the literature.