Regadenoson Stress Testing: A Comprehensive Review With a Focused Update

Regadenoson is a pharmacological stress agent that has been widely used since its approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2008. For many years, dipyridamole and adenosine, which are non-selective adenosine receptor agonists, were more popular. However, these agents are less preferred now due to their undesirable adverse effects as compared to regadenoson. In the ADVANCE (ADenoscan Versus regAdenosoN Comparative Evaluation) phase 3 clinical trial, regadenoson demonstrated non-inferiority to adenosine for detecting reversible myocardial ischemia. This review summarizes the clinical utilities of regadenoson as the most widely used pharmacological stress agent. Moreover, the use of regadenoson has been documented in specific patient populations. Although regadenoson has established safety and efficacy in most patients with chronic diseases, there are equivocal results in the literature for other chronic diseases. It is warranted to highlight that the use of regadenoson has not been studied in patients of low socioeconomic class; it is a condition that carries a significant burden on the cardiovascular system.