Journal List > Korean Circ J > v.25(6) > 1073108

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Park, Kim, Bae, Yang, Kim, Son, Do, Kim, Kim, and Kim: Intravascular Ultrasonographic Detection of Atherosclerotic Lesions in Spastic Segments of the Coronary Arteries in Patients with Variant Angina
Original Article
Korean Circulation Journal

Korean Circulation Journal 1995; 25(6): 1132-1139.

Published online: 31 December 1995

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4070/kcj.1995.25.6.1132

Intravascular Ultrasonographic Detection of Atherosclerotic Lesions in Spastic Segments of the Coronary Arteries in Patients with Variant Angina

Hee Seung Park, M.D., Kwang Dong Kim, M.D., Sang Moon Bae, M.D., Chang Ho Yang, M.D., Byung Soo Kim, M.D., Ji Won Son, M.D., Hyun Kuk Do, M.D., Moo Hyun Kim, M.D., Young Dae Kim, M.D., Jong Seong Kim, M.D.

Copyright © 1995 The Korean Society of Circulation

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Coronary artery spasm plays an important role for evoking myocardial ischemia and infarction as well as sudden cardiac death in patients with variant angina. The coronary anatomy in patients with variant angina has been defined both at autopsy and during coronary arteriography. Severe porximal coronary atherosclerosis of at least one major vessel occurs in 3/4 of patients and the remainder have normal coronary arteries.
Coronary angiography is a relatively insensitive diagnostic tool especially in the early stages of coronary artery disease. Due to arterial remodelling, angiographic luminogram may show little or no narrowing even though a large part of the total vessel area is occupied by plaque.
Intravascular ultrasonography(IVUS) enables accurate determination of vessel dimensions and wall characteristics and is more sensitive in delineating early intimal changes than angiography.
We experienced 2 cases that IVUS showed focal or diffuse atherosclerosis in spastic segments of the coronary arteries, even though they appeared angiographically normal.

Keywords: Coronary artery spasm, Intravasculr ultrasonography, Atherosclerosis

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