Coronary arterial measurements were made from cineangiograms in patients with positive and negative ergonovine tests. In those with positive tests, normal segments of arteries adjacent to the site of spasm and arteries without spasm showed no greater sensitivity to ergonovine than arteries from control patients (20 +/- 13% constriction vs 17 +/- 12%, NS). In patients with positive and negative ...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to determine whether lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) is an independent risk factor for coronary spasm and occurrence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in patients with coronary spasm. BACKGROUND Although elevated serum Lp(a) levels are known to be associated with coronary atherosclerosis and AMI, the association between the elevated level of this lipoprotein ...

Mechanisms underlying coronary spasm are still poorly understood. The aim of the study was to assess the hypothesis that fluctuations in the development of coronary spasm might reflect inputs from the adjacent esophageal system. We enrolled patients admitted to the coronary care unit for episodes of nocturnal angina. Seven patients with variant angina and five with coronary artery disease (CAD)...

BACKGROUND Smoking and other risk factors have been well known as important factors of variant angina or coronary artery spasm (CAS). However, clinical features related to age on coronary artery spasm have been rarely evaluated. METHODS We evaluated 3155 consecutive patients with insignificant coronary artery lesion. Patients underwent Acetylcholine (Ach) provocation test for induction of CAS...

Radial artery access improves the patient's well-being, permits earlier ambulation and diminishes vascular complications after cardiac catheterization. Using the same catheter to study the left and right coronary arteries may facilitate the technique. In a cohort of 100 patients we prospectively analyzed the possibility of studying both coronary arteries with a Judkins left 3.5 catheter. The va...

OBJECTIVES We sought to determine the prognosis of patients with acute coronary syndrome without culprit lesion and proof of coronary spasm during 3 years of follow-up. BACKGROUND Coronary artery spasm has been identified as an alternative cause for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in patients without culprit lesion. In the CASPAR (Coronary Artery Spasm as a Frequent Cause for Acute Coronary Syn...

BACKGROUND Intracoronary brachytherapy is effective in preventing restenosis after coronary interventions. However, in vitro and animal studies have shown that irradiation produces immediate and sustained endothelial dysfunction. This study assesses the clinical relevance of impaired vasomotoric function induced by brachytherapy. METHODS AND RESULTS We analyzed the occurrence of postradiation...