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European Heart Journal 1988 9(5):484-488;
Copyright © 1988 by the European Society of Cardiology.
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© 1988 The European Society of Cardiology

The contribution of ventricular tachy arrhythmias to the genesis of cardiac pain during transient myocardial ischaemia in patients with variant angina

A. BIAGINI, M. EMDIN, C. MICHELASSI, M. G. MAZZEI, C. CARPREGGIANI, R. TESTA, F. ANDREOTTI and A. L'ABBATE

C.N.R. Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa, and Istituto Patologia Medica of the University Pisa, Italy

Received 10 February 1987; revised 10 August 1987; .

Address for reprints: A. Biagini, M.D., C.N.R. Institute of Clin Physiology, via P Savi, 8, 56100 Pisa, Italy

Abstract

The 24-h ambulatory electrocardiograms of 15 patients with both variant angina and ischaemia-related arrhythmias were analyzed to correlate cardiac pain with the following variables: site, type, duration and magnitude of ECG changes, presence and type of arrhythmias and time of occurrence of ischaemic attacks during the 24-h. Apart from sublingual nitrate therapy, Holter monitoring was performed in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU), in the drugfree state in all patients. During a total of 79 days of monitoring, patients had 1385 ischaemic episodes, of which only 30% were painful. The site of ischaemia did not predict the occurrence of pain. Pain was more frequently associated with ST-segment elevation, longer ischaemic duration, increased time to peak ECG change, and greater ST-segment shift and arrhythmias. When the 259 attacks in association with ventricular arrhythmias were compared to the arrhythmia-free episodes, they were more frequently painful for the same duration and magnitude of ECG ischaemic changes. Furthermore, the complexity of arrhythmias increased the probability of cardiac pain. Most ischaemic episodes occurred at night and a decrease in the frequency of painful episodes (apart from those associated with arrhythmias) was apparent. Thus, in addition to electrocardiographic severity and duration of ischaemia, the presence of ventricular arrhythmias and the time of occurrence seem to influence pain perception during ischaemia.

Key Words: Myocardial ischaemia • pain • arrhythmias • ambulatory monitoring


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