Dobutamine “Stress” Test and Latent Cardiac Susceptibility to Inhaled Diesel Exhaust in Normal and Hypertensive Rats

Abstract

Background: Exercise “stress” testing is a screening tool used to determine the amount of stress for which the heart can compensate before developing abnormal rhythm or ischemia, particularly in susceptible persons. Although this approach has been used to assess risk in humans exposed to air pollution, it has never been applied to rodent studies