[Clinical coronarographic characteristics and pathogenetic mechanism of angina pectoris with s-t elevation (author's transl)].

The study of 46 patients with frequent anginal episodes characterized by S-T elevation (so called "variant angina pectoris") demonstrated that this type of electrocardiographic pattern does not characterize a homogeneous group of patients. In fact, while in some patients angina occurred only at rest, in others it occurred also on exercise. Sometimes ecgraphic alterations characterized by S-T depression were observed on the same leads which on other occasions had shown S-T elevation. The angiographic picture revealed: absence of significant coronary alterations in 10% of cases, stenosis greater than 75% in one main branch in 29%, in two branches in 39% and in three branches in 22% of cases. The hemodynamic monitoring carried out on 14 of these patients demonstrated that the ecgraphic modifications occur before the onset of the hemodynamic parameters which control myocardial O2 consumption. This suggests a primitive reduction of regional myocardial blood supply as a cause of the ischaemic episodes. The study of the regional myocardial perfusion with 201Tl technique in 6 patients confirmed this hypothesis. Coronary angiography carried out during an ischemic episode showed that the reduction of myocardial blood supply was caused by a spasm of a large coronary artery involving a long segment of the vessel, reversible by nitroglycerin administration. Aorto-coronary by-pass operation performed on 6 patients was followed by the disappearance of pain in two patients, even though the "by-pass" patency was angiographically proved in two patients.