Myocardial Ischemic Syndromes, Heart Failure Syndromes, Electrocardiographic Abnormalities, Arrhythmic Syndromes and Angiographic Diagnosis of Coronary Artery Spasm: Literature Review

In coronary artery spasm (CAS), an excess coronary vasoconstriction causing total or subtotal vessel occlusion could lead to syncope, heart failure syndromes, arrhythmic syndromes, and myocardial ischemic syndromes including asymptomatic myocardial ischemia, stable and unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction, and sudden cardiac death. Although the clinical significance of CAS has been underrated because of the frequent absence of symptoms, affected patients appear to be at higher risk of syncope, serious arrhythmias, and sudden death than those with classic Heberden's angina pectoris. Therefore, a prompt diagnosis has important therapeutic implications, and is needed to avoid CAS-related complications. While a definitive diagnosis is based mainly on coronary angiography and provocative testing, clinical features may help guide decision-making. We perform a literature review to assess the past and current state of knowledge regarding the clinical features, electrocardiographic abnormalities and angiographic diagnosis of CAS, while a discussion of mechanisms is beyond the scope of this review.