1/189. Refractory coronary artery spasm with superimposed thrombosis: successful treatment with Palmaz-Schatz stent.Prinzmetal variant angina due to epicardial coronary artery spasm is a disease usually treated with drug therapy with successful results. A case of variant angina, refractory to conventional pharmacological treatment, and complicated by coronary artery thrombosis, was treated with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and stenting with good immediate and late clinical results.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/189. Prinzmetal's variant angina: three case reports and a review of the literature.Prinzmetal's variant angina is a rare entity. When angina-like symptoms occur at rest, mostly at a specific hour in the early morning, together with transient ST segment elevations and angiographically normal arteries, provocative tests with ergonovine or acetylcholine should be performed. Endothelial dysfunction, a strong thrombotic tendency, an increased platelet aggregation together with changes in autonomic tone can trigger coronary vasospasms. Once treated with calcium antagonists and nitrates the prognosis is excellent and severe complications such as arrhythmias, myocardial infarction or sudden death are extremely rare. Coronary stenting can be useful for refractory coronary spasm, CABG can be used for important coronary atherosclerosis. This review is illustrated with three typical presentations of variant angina: a myocardial infarction without significant organic coronary atherosclerosis, an ergonovine-induced coronary spasm with a non-significant coronary lesion and a multivessel spasm complicated by ventricular arrhythmia. All these three patients became asymptomatic after a treatment with calcium antagonists and nitrates.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.5keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/189. Vasospastic angina likely related to cisplatin-containing chemotherapy and thoracic irradiation for lung cancer.Vasospastic angina is rarely observed during cancer treatment. The present report describes two males with lung cancer, aged 73 and 61, who developed vasospastic angina during combination treatment of cisplatin-containing chemotherapy and thoracic irradiation. As both patients have smoked and their ages are typical for patients with coronary artery disease, such events may be incidental. However, oncologists should be aware of the possible development of myocardial ischemia during or following administration of antineoplastic agents, especially in elderly patients with pre-existing coronary risk factors or a history of thoracic radiotherapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/189. plasma endothelin-1 elevation associated with alcohol-induced variant angina.Vasospastic angina as a result of alcohol ingestion has been reported, but the mechanism of alcohol-induced coronary artery spasm is presently unknown. This report presents 2 cases of alcohol-induced variant angina (VA) with elevated levels of plasma endothelin-1 after alcohol ingestion. In case 1, the plasma endothelin-1 concentration was 3.15 pg/ml before drinking (normal <2.30 pg/ml) and increased to 4.09 pg/ml when measured 5 h after alcohol ingestion. After 2 months of abstinence, the plasma endothelin-1 concentration was 2.88 pg/ml and 6 months after abstinence, it decreased to 2.03 pg/ml (normal range). In case 2, the plasma endothelin-1 concentration was 2.44 pg/ml before drinking and increased to 4.36 pg/ml when measured 5 h after alcohol ingestion. After 2 months of abstinence, the plasma endothelin-1 concentration was 3.04 pg/ml and 6 months after abstinence, it decreased to 2.09 pg/ml (normal range). These 2 cases suggest that a relationship may exist between alcohol-induced VA and elevation in the plasma endothelin-1 concentration after alcohol ingestion.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/189. An uncommon case of variant angina.This case report describes a 48-year-old woman patient with variant angina who died because of severe myocardial ischemia and cardiogenic shock, in spite of chronic therapy with nitrates and calcium-antagonists and acute intravenous administration of nitrates, calcium-antagonists and tissue-type plasminogen activator. Her Holter monitoring showed a reduction of time domain measures of heart rate variability. The hemodynamic study exhibited a normal ventriculography and angiographically normal epicardial coronary arteries. The provocative testing, performed (during intravenous therapy with nitrates and diltiazem) by intracoronary injection of progressively increasing doses of ergonovine, induced only a mild vasoconstriction of proximal left anterior descending artery, without symptoms or ST-T segment changes. This case reminds us that variant angina can be a lethal disease, confirms that a negative result of intracoronary ergonovine testing performed during intravenous therapy with nitrates and calcium-antagonists does not assure the prevention of new episodes during chronic oral therapy with the same drugs, suggests a possible prognostic value of the reduction of heart rate variability indexes and shows an unusual response to nitrate administration.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/189. Beware of the heart: the multiple picture of cardiac involvement in myositis.A 42-yr-old woman with dermatomyositis had two myocardial infarctions, episodes of acute chest pain and an acute lung oedema. These events were initially misinterpreted as atherosclerotic ischaemic heart disease accompanying the autoimmune disease. The lack of improvement of cardiac symptoms with anti-ischaemic and immunosuppressive drugs indicated other mechanisms. Intracoronary drug provocation as well as myocardial biopsy revealed a coincidence of small-vessel disease and vasospastic angina as a cause for the severe cardiac symptoms. After initiating therapy with high doses of calcium channel blockers, marked improvement of cardiac symptoms occurred. In the pathogenesis of cardiac involvement in dermatomyositis, two different mechanisms should be considered: inflammatory processes due to dermatomyositis and vasoconstriction caused by an impaired regulation of vascular tone, such as abnormal vessel reactivity or disturbed neuropeptide release. Signs of this generalized vasopathy are Raynaud's phenomenon, Prinzmetal's angina and small-vessel disease, which can coincide. In patients with severe cardiac symptoms and autoimmune diseases, Prinzmetal's angina should be excluded by intracoronary drug provocation using acetylcholine.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.5keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/189. Treatment of variant angina pectoris with perhexilene maleate.Three patients with variant angina pectoris resistant to therapy with nitrates and propranolol were treated with perhexilene maleate. Two patients had normal coronary arteries with documented coronary artery spasm, while the third patient had a fixed coronary artery obstruction. In all three patients, attacks of variant angina pectoris disappeared following institution of therapy with perhexilene maleate. When the dose of this drug was decreased to 100 mg per day or less, symptoms reappeared in all patients. Reinstitution of therapeutic doses of perhexilene maleate once again resulted in complete control of symptoms. Perhexilene maleate is therefore a useful agent for the treatment of variant angina pectoris.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.5keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/189. Angiographic documented coronary arterial spasm in absence of critical coronary artery stenoses in a patient with variant angina episodes during exercise and dobutamine stress echocardiography.dobutamine stress echocardiography is widely performed as a useful diagnostic tool in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease. dobutamine induced myocardial ischaemia is frequently associated with ST segment depression. ST segment elevation is uncommon and is almost always associated with prior myocardial infarction or transient total coronary occlusion. dobutamine induced ST segment elevation in absence of significant coronary artery disease is a rare condition and is supposed to be a consequence of severe coronary artery spasm. The case of a 58 year old man with variant angina episodes at rest, during exercise test, and dobutamine stress echocardiography is reported, in whom coronary spasm without significant coronary artery stenoses was documented angiographically.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.5keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/189. Prinzmetal's variant angina.Two patients are described with a typical Prinzmetal's variant angina. Both patients were young, active males with angina of recent onset. They experienced angina only at rest and in one patient the angina had a cyclic character appearing only between 4 and 10 a.m. In both patients there was no correlation whatsoever between the angina pectoris and effort, emotion or change in temperature and the angina reacted promptly to nitroglycerine sublingually. The number of attacks and the intensity of the pain were increasing rapidly over a short period of time in both cases. The stenoses in both patients did not exceed 50% of the lumen of the coronary arteries, but coronary surgery has been performed on clinical grounds because both patients were completely disabled and one of them suffered from life-threatening dysrhythmias. For respectively 18 and 6 months after saphenous vein bypass surgery both patients have been symptom-free and able to resume their work. The problems concerning the diagnosis Prinzmetal's variant of angina pectoris are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5.5keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/189. Arteriographic demonstration of spontaneous right coronary artery spasm in a patient with Prinzmetal's angina.Coronary artery spasm may occur spontaneously during coronary angiography in patients with clinically documented or suspected Prinzmetal's angina. In other patients with Prinzmetal's angina, the spasm can be provoked by the administration of ergonovine. A patient with spontaneous spasm of the right coronary artery during coronary angiography is reported and some considerations for diagnosis and therapy of this entity is offered. Although intraoperative spasm has been reported in the cardiology literature, no such case has been described in the radiology literature.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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