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. 2015;24(6):560-4.
doi: 10.1159/000434754. Epub 2015 Jul 9.

Relationship between Nitrate-Induced Headache and Coronary Artery Lesion Complexity

Hakan Erkan  1 , Gülhanım Kırış, Levent Korkmaz, Mustafa Tarık Ağaç, İsmail Gökhan Çavuşoğlu, İhsan Dursun, Ahmet Seyda Yılmaz, Ahmet Oğuz Aslan, Dilek Cahide Kırcı, Şükrü Çelik
Affiliations

Relationship between Nitrate-Induced Headache and Coronary Artery Lesion Complexity

Hakan Erkan et al. Med Princ Pract. 2015.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between nitrate-induced headache (NIH) and the complexity of coronary artery lesions in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD).

Subjects and methods: Two hundred and seventy-five patients with anginal chest pain who underwent coronary angiography were enrolled in the present study. NIH was defined as the presence of headache due to nitrate treatment (isosorbide mononitrate 40 mg) after excluding confounding factors. Coronary artery lesion complexity was assessed by the SYNTAX score (SXscore) using a dedicated computer software system.

Results: The mean SXscore was lower in the patients with NIH than in patients without NIH (7.3 ± 5.2 vs. 14.4 ± 8.5, respectively; p < 0.001). Additionally, patients with NIH had a lower rate of multivessel disease compared with those without NIH (the mean number of diseased vessels was 1.5 ± 0.7 and 2.0 ± 07, respectively; p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, increasing age (p = 0.02) and headache (p = 0.001) were found to be independent determinants of SXscore.

Conclusion: The present study demonstrated an independent inverse association between NIH and SXscore. The NIH could provide important predictive information about coronary artery lesion complexity in patients with stable CAD.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comparison of the mean SXscore in patients with and without NIH.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparison of the frequency of headache in patients with and without severe CAD; the rate of patients without headache significantly differed between patients with and without severe CAD (p = 0.002).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

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