Chest pain should be taken seriously even if the arteries are not clogged

Patients who experience chest pain and have abnormal cardiac stress test results without blocked arteries often experience changes in their symptoms and results over time, according to research presented at the annual scientific session of theAmerican College of Cardiology. “Even if these patients have abnormal stress test results, the evolution of symptoms and these results over time do not necessarily go hand in hand.said Harmony R. Reynolds, lead author of the study. There may be times when symptoms are more active and times when they are absent.”

More angina in people with unnarrowed arteries

The problem of blood flow limitation or cardiac symptoms in the absence of narrowing of the arteries by 50% or more is known as silent myocardial ischemia. All of the patients experienced chest pain or other heart symptoms and had abnormal results on a stress echocardiogram, a test in which a doctor uses ultrasound to image the heart before and after a patient exercises on a treadmill or stationary bike.

For this study, 208 people, who did not have narrowing of the arteries, underwent a series of stress echocardiogram tests. The researchers assessed their symptoms and stress test scores and compared them to 1,079 of the patients who had clogged arteries. The researchers found that both groups of patients exhibited similar amounts of ischemia during their stress tests. Participants without clogged arteries had more angina pectoris with 17% of these patients contracting one weekly compared to 4% in the other group

Women more likely to experience chest pain

One year later, half of the stress echocardiograms of patients without narrowing of the arteries became normal, and 45% were the same as at baseline, or worse. Angina pectoris symptoms improved in 42% of cases and worsened in 14% of cases. Change in stress test scores over one year and change in symptoms over one year were not related to each other. “The worry is that patients with silent myocardial ischemia will get the all-clear from doctors, who might believe patients are fine because their arteries are openanalyzed Harmony Reynolds. However, they cannot be ignored. Previous studies show these patients are at higher risk than people without angina.”

The difference between the results of the two groups results in the fact that in the 208 patients with narrowed arteries, 66% are women while only 26% of the 1079 patients in the other group are women. This finding is consistent with previous studies that have shown that women are more likely to experience chest pain symptoms and have abnormal stress test results than men despite having less plaque buildup in the arteries. It could be linked to fundamental differences in how heart disease develops in women and men.”, attempted Harmony Reynolds. For example, previous studies have suggested that women are more likely to suffer from small vessel disease, in which small blood vessels restrict blood flow to the heart even though the major arteries are clear.