R Sacha Bhatia, Zachary Bouck, Noah M Ivers, Graham Mecredy, Jasjit Singh, Ciara Pendrith, Dennis T Ko, Danielle Martin, Harindra C Wijeysundera, Jack V Tu, Lynn Wilson, Kimberly Wintemute, Paul Dorian, Joshua Tepper, Peter C Austin, Richard H Glazier, Wendy Levinson
Importance: Clinical guidelines advise against routine electrocardiograms (ECG) in low-risk, asymptomatic patients, but the frequency and impact of such ECGs are unknown. Objective: To assess the frequency of ECGs following an annual health examination (AHE) with a primary care physician among patients with no known cardiac conditions or risk factors, to explore factors predictive of receiving an ECG in this clinical scenario, and to compare downstream cardiac testing and clinical outcomes in low-risk patients who did and did not receive an ECG after their AHE...
September 1, 2017: JAMA Internal Medicine