OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of stress electrocardiography (S-ECG) and stress myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (S-MPS) in the differential diagnosis of patients with atypical chest pain. METHODS: Patients with atypical chest pain were undergone S-ECG, S-MPS, coronary angiography and coronary artery spastic provocation with intracoronary acetylcholine test. The final diagnoses of those patients were coronary heart disease, coronary spasm, coronary artery muscular bridge, microvascular angina pectoris and chest pain with non-coronary heart disease. Those patients were grouped by final diagnoses to retrospectively compare the results of S-ECG and S-MPS between groups. RESULTS: Totally 186 patients with integrated data were included. The final diagnoses were coronary artery stenosis (above 50% stenosis in diameter) in 20%, coronary artery spasm in 27%, coronary artery muscular bridge in 14%, microvascular angina pectoris in 5%, and chest pain with non-coronary artery disease in 34%. The sensitivity and specificity to diagnose ischemic coronary artery disease (including coronary stenosis, coronary artery muscular bridge and syndrome X but not coronary artery spasm) were 92% and 65% in S-ECG, 62% and 79% in S-MPS, respectively. Combination of atypical chest pain, negative S-ECG and reversal redistribution of S-MPS was an accurate non-invasive method to diagnose coronary artery spasm with sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 96%. CONCLUSIONS: Most of patients with atypical chest pain have organic or functional ischemic coronary artery disease. Combination of heart stress tests are helpful to differentiate the etiology of atypical chest pain.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of stress electrocardiography (S-ECG) and stress myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (S-MPS) in the differential diagnosis of patients with atypical chest pain. METHODS:Patients with atypical chest pain were undergone S-ECG, S-MPS, coronary angiography and coronary artery spastic provocation with intracoronary acetylcholine test. The final diagnoses of those patients were coronary heart disease, coronary spasm, coronary artery muscular bridge, microvascular angina pectoris and chest pain with non-coronary heart disease. Those patients were grouped by final diagnoses to retrospectively compare the results of S-ECG and S-MPS between groups. RESULTS: Totally 186 patients with integrated data were included. The final diagnoses were coronary artery stenosis (above 50% stenosis in diameter) in 20%, coronary artery spasm in 27%, coronary artery muscular bridge in 14%, microvascular angina pectoris in 5%, and chest pain with non-coronary artery disease in 34%. The sensitivity and specificity to diagnose ischemiccoronary artery disease (including coronary stenosis, coronary artery muscular bridge and syndrome X but not coronary artery spasm) were 92% and 65% in S-ECG, 62% and 79% in S-MPS, respectively. Combination of atypical chest pain, negative S-ECG and reversal redistribution of S-MPS was an accurate non-invasive method to diagnose coronary artery spasm with sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 96%. CONCLUSIONS: Most of patients with atypical chest pain have organic or functional ischemic coronary artery disease. Combination of heart stress tests are helpful to differentiate the etiology of atypical chest pain.