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Review
. 2023 Feb;30(1):167-177.
doi: 10.1007/s12350-022-02948-z. Epub 2022 Mar 23.

Non-invasive diagnosis of vasospastic angina

Vincent Ngo  1 , Anahita Tavoosi  2 , Alexandre Natalis  3 , Francois Harel  1 , E Marc Jolicoeur  3 , Robert S B Beanlands  2 , Matthieu Pelletier-Galarneau  4
Affiliations
Review

Non-invasive diagnosis of vasospastic angina

Vincent Ngo et al. J Nucl Cardiol. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Vasospastic angina (VSA), or variant angina, is an under-recognized cause of chest pain and myocardial infarction, especially in Western countries. VSA leads to a declined quality of life and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Currently, the diagnosis of VSA relies on invasive testing that requires the direct intracoronary administration of ergonovine or acetylcholine. However, invasive vasoreactivity testing is underutilized. Several non-invasive imaging alternatives have been proposed to screen for VSA. This review aims to discuss the strengths and limitations of available non-invasive imaging tests for vasospastic angina.

Keywords: Ergonovine; Microvascular spasm; Positron emission tomography; Prinzmetal; Single-photon emission tomography; Variant angina; Vasospasm.

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