Category: Research

Research

ANOCA/INOCA/MINOCA: Open artery ischemia

Ischemic heart disease continues to represent a major health threat for death, disability, and poor quality of life as it also consumes enormous health-related resources. For over a century, the major clinical phenotype was taken to be obstructive atherosclerosis involving the larger coronary arteries (e.g., coronary artery disease [CAD]). However, evolving evidence now indicates that nonobstructive CAD is the predominant phenotype.

Patients within this phenotype have been termed to have angina with no obstructive CAD (ANOCA), ischemia with no obstructive CAD (INOCA), or myocardial infarction with no obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA). But as methods to assess cardiomyocyte injury evolve, these phenotypic distinctions have begun to merge, raising concern about their usefulness.

Read More »
Research

Phenotype-based management of coronary microvascular dysfunction

40-70% of patients undergoing invasive coronary angiography with signs and symptoms of ischemia are found to have no obstructive coronary artery disease (INOCA). When this heterogeneous group undergo coronary function testing, approximately two-thirds have demonstrable coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), which is independently associated with adverse prognosis.

There are four distinct phenotypes, or subgroups, each with unique pathophysiological mechanisms and responses to therapies. The clinical phenotypes are microvascular angina, vasospastic angina, mixed (microvascular and vasospastic), and non-cardiac symptoms (reclassification as non-INOCA). The Coronary Vasomotor Disorders International Study Group (COVADIS) have proposed standardized criteria for diagnosis.

Read More »
Research

Precision medicine versus standard of care for patients with myocardial...

Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) represents about 6-8% of patients presenting with myocardial infarction (MI), and it is associated with a significant risk of mortality, rehospitalisation, and angina burden, with high associated socioeconomic costs.

It is important to note that multiple mechanisms may be responsible for MINOCA. However, to date, there are few prospective clinical trials on MINOCA and the treatment of these patients is still not defined, most likely because of the multiple underlying pathogenic mechanisms.

Read More »
Research

Coronary Slow Flow Is Not Diagnostic of Microvascular Dysfunction in...

Guidelines recommend that coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP), defined as corrected thrombolysis in myocardial infarction frame count (CTFC) >27, can diagnose coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) in patients with angina and nonobstructed coronary arteries.

CSFP has also historically been regarded as a sign of coronary endothelial dysfunction (CED). We sought to validate the utility of CTFC, as a binary classifier of CSFP and as a continuous variable, to diagnose CMD and CED.

Read More »
Research

Prognostic association of plasma NT-proBNP levels in patients with microvascular...

The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic association of plasma levels of N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) with clinical outcomes of patients with microvascular angina (MVA).

In this international prospective cohort study of MVA by the Coronary Vasomotor Disorders International Study (COVADIS) group, we examined the association between plasma NT-proBNP levels and the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and hospitalization due to heart failure or unstable angina.

Read More »
Research

Air Pollution and Coronary Vasomotor Disorders in Patients With Myocardial...

Coronary vasomotor abnormalities are important causes of myocardial ischemia in patients with nonobstructive coronary artery disease (NOCAD). However, the role of air pollution in determining coronary vasomotor disorders has never been investigated.

We aimed to evaluate the association between long-term exposure to particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and 10 (PM10), and coronary vasomotor disorders in NOCAD patients.

Read More »
Research

Vasospastic Angina: A Contemporary Review of its Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and...

Nearly 40% of patients presenting to the catheter laboratory with angina have non-obstructed coronary arteries (ANOCA), an umbrella term that encompasses distinct pathophysiological entities, such as coronary artery spasm.

Coronary artery spasm leads to sudden reversible coronary flow attenuation, which clinically manifests as vasospastic angina (VSA). VSA is associated with poor quality of life and an increased risk of major adverse cardiac events. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are incompletely understood, which has resulted in limited therapeutic options for patients afflicted with this condition. The past decade has seen a surge in new research being conducted in the field of ANOCA and VSA.

Read More »
Research

Features of atherosclerosis in patients with angina and no obstructive...

Background: An association between atherosclerosis and coronary vasospasm has previously been suggested. However, to date, no conclusive data on the whole spectrum of these disorders have been published.

Aims: This study aimed to define specific morphological features of atherosclerosis in patients with angina and no obstructive coronary artery disease (ANOCA) due to coronary vasospasm.

Read More »
Research

Beyond Structural Angiography: The Emergence of Functional Coronary Angiography*

The evaluation of stable chest pain suspected to be cardiac in nature has traditionally involved the use of a screening noninvasive investigation, with invasive selective coronary angiography being the benchmark investigation.

Moreover, if the noninvasive investigation implicates the presence of myocardial ischemia (ie, new ischemic electrocardiographic [ECG] changes, perfusion defect, or regional wall abnormality) and the invasive coronary angiogram shows no evidence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), then the noninvasive investigation is considered a false positive and the patient receives a diagnosis of “noncardiac chest pain.”

Read More »
Research

Clinical Relevance of Ischemia with Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries According to...

In the absence of obstructive coronary stenoses, abnormality of noninvasive stress tests (NIT) in patients with chronic coronary syndromes may indicate myocardial ischemia of nonobstructive coronary arteries (INOCA). The differential prognosis of INOCA according to the presence of coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) and incremental prognostic value of CMD with intracoronary physiologic assessment on top of NIT information remains unknown.

In stable patients with nonobstructive coronary stenoses, a diagnosis of INOCA based only on abnormal NIT did not identify patients with higher risk of long‐term cardiovascular events. Incorporating intracoronary physiologic assessment to NIT information in patients with nonobstructive disease allowed identification of patient subgroups with up to 4‐fold difference in long‐term cardiovascular events.

Read More »
Around The World

Real Patient Stories

Explore more

Rene’s story

I had my first heart attack in 2018. I was 67 years old.

After numerous trips to the hospital, tests, and frequent heart attack-like symptoms, I was diagnosed with Prinzmetal Angina and placed on medications.

I lost weight. I exercised. I was finally feeling better. I even got back to my painting.

Until…2019 happened.

Read More »

Jennifer’s story

Hello! My name is Jennifer, a 41-year-old mother of 5 and a nurse. My husband and I have been married nearly 15 years. Before I share my story, I’d like to share that I had never been on any medications other than Lexapro for mild depression and anxiety. I did not have heart problems or even high blood pressure. December 9, 2023, was the beginning of a life changing event leading to the diagnosis of Coronary Artery Spasm, also known as Prinzmetal Angina.

Read More »

Sinéad’s story

My first episode caught me completely off guard on a Sunday morning in 2014. I was an active, healthy 35-year-old mother of 3. It felt like what I imagined having a heart attack would feel like. After a minute or two it stopped as suddenly as it had started and I got out of bed to start my day, I had experienced palpitations before and brushed it off as a once off.

I had about 8 more episodes before lunch time and made a deal with myself that if it continued, I would call an ambulance. I was a busy mum and didn’t want to be ‘dramatic’! It resolved by 2 p.m.

Read More »

Get Informed

Learn all about the symptoms, causes and triggers of these heart conditions.

CORONARY VASOSPASMMICROVASCULAR ANGINA

Educate. Inform. Enlighten.