Method and system for evaluating and locating cardiac ischemia

A method of assessing cardiac ischemia in a subject to provide a measure of cardiac or cardiovascular health in that subject, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) collecting a first RR-interval data set from said subject during a stage of gradually increasing exercise load and gradually increasing heart rate;
• and then, without an intervening rest stage,
• (b) collecting a second RR-interval data set from said subject during a stage of gradually decreasing exercise load and gradually decreasing heart rate;
• (c) comparing said first RR-interval data set to said second RR-interval data set to determine the difference between said data sets;
• and
• (d) generating from said comparison of step (c) a measure of cardiac ischemia during exercise in said subject, wherein a greater difference between said first and second data sets indicates greater cardiac ischemia and lesser cardiac or cardiovascular health in said subject;
• wherein said first and second KR-interval data sets are collected from a plurality of separate electrode leads,
• and wherein said generating step includes the step of generating an indication of the location of cardiac ischemia in said subject.

A method of assessing cardiac ischemia in a subject to provide a measure of cardiac or cardiovascular health in that subject, said method comprising performing on a computer system the steps of:

• (a) providing a first RR-interval data set collected from said subject during a stage of gradually increasing heart rate;
• (b) providing a second RR-interval data set collected from said subject during a stage of gradually decreasing heart rate;
• (c) comparing said first RR-interval data set to said second RR-interval data set to determine the difference between said data sets;
• and
• (d) generating from said comparison of step (c) a measure of cardiac ischemia in said subject, wherein a greater difference between said first and second data sets indicates greater cardiac ischemia and lesser cardiac or cardiovascular health in said subject;
• wherein said first and second RR-interval data sets are collected from a plurality of separate electrode leads,
• and wherein said generating step includes the step of generating an indication of the location of cardiac ischemia in said subject.

A computer system for assessing cardiac ischemia in a subject to provide a measure of cardiac or cardiovascular health in that subject, said system comprising:

• (a) means for providing a first RR-interval data set from said subject during a stage of gradually increasing heart rate;
• (b) means for providing a second RR-interval data set from said subject during a stage of gradually decreasing heart rate;
• (c) means for comparing said first RR-interval data set to said second RR-interval data set to determine the difference between said data sets;
• and
• (d) means for generating from said comparison a measure of cardiac ischemia in said subject, wherein a greater difference between said first and second data sets indicates greater cardiac ischemia and lesser cardiac or cardiovascular health in said subject, wherein said generating includes generating an indication of the location of cardiac ischemia in said subject.