Transient Q waves in Prinzmetal's angina.

Transient abnormal Q waves were seen in two patients with Prinzmetal's angina during episodes of chest pain. The Q waves appeared recurrently while the patients had chest pain and disappeared when it subsided, indicating that Q waves suggestive of myocardial infarction can be seen with severe myocardial ischemia without actual necrosis. We describe these two patients, the various conditions in which transient abnormal Q waves have been reported and the theories offered to explain this electrophysiologic finding.