Comparison of clinical and angiographic features and longterm follow-up events between patients with variant angina and patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction

We investigated to what extent patients with variant angina and significant coronary stenosis (>or=70%) present a clinical and angiographic profile similar to patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction. Thus, the clinical and angiographic features as well as follow-up events of 200 patients were prospectively analyzed and were compared with those of 422 patients with a first ST elevation myocardial infarction survivors of the early phase (3 days) and those of 70 patients with variant angina and non significant stenosis. Age and incidence of smoking, systemic hypertension, diabetes and maximum ST elevation were similar in the 2 groups. Furthermore, among patients with significant coronary stenosis, stenosis severity and the proportion of eccentric lesions were also comparable. Incidence of recent-within 30 days prior to admission-angina at rest was higher in variant angina patients with significant stenosis (67% vs. 27%, p<0.001) than in those with myocardial infarction but long standing angina at rest (>30 days) was low and comparable in these 2 groups (15% vs. 11%, ns). Also, in a 5-year follow-up most patients from these 2 groups were free from angina at rest (86% vs. 84%) which in variant angina patients was largely attributable to a high revascularization rate (72%). Moreover, the rate of myocardial infarction/cardiac death (20% vs. 19%) was also similar. Patients with variant angina and non-significant stenosis, however, had longer antecedent angina, more frequent follow-up angina and a lower incidence of cardiac events than the other 2 groups. Thus, these findings suggest that patients with variant angina and significant coronary stenosis generally behave as an acute coronary syndrome-likely associated with an acutely complicated plaque-rather than as recurrent vasospastic angina, and should be managed accordingly.