Pseudostenokardie-Symptomkomplexe bei hämodynamischer Diagnostik bei Herzischämie

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of pseudocoronary syndromes in persons undergoing cardiac diagnostic tests because of suspected ischaemic heart disease. The study involved 384 subjects, 114 women and 270 men aged 21–75 years, who had been referred for precise cardiac diagnosis with a tentative preliminary diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease. In each subject an exercise stress test was performed, as was an ECG both at rest and during exercise and a coronary angiogram. Subjective sensations (e.g. pain in the chest, dyspnoea) experienced during the tests were also taken into account. Of the 384 patients suffering from pain in the chest area, ischaemic heart disease was excluded in 180 cases. In this subgroup the target HR (submaximal HR) was achieved during the stress test without any significant alterations in the ECG trace (raising or lowering of the ST segment). The subsequent coronary angiography definitively excluded any cardiogenic origin of the pain in the chest.