Treatment of variant angina with drugs: a survey of 11 cardiology institutes in Japan.

Data from 11 cardiology institutes in Japan were examined to determine the effectiveness of drug therapy, especially with calcium antagonists, on variant angina. The subjects were 243 males and 43 females, most of whom were 40-59 years old. Coronary artery lesions were found in 92 of 162 patients (56.7%) in whom cinecoronary arteriograms were done. The efficacy rates of nifedipine, diltiazem and verapamil were 94.0%, 90.8% and 85.7%, respectively. Regardless of the presence or absence of organic coronary artery lesions, the drugs were effective in 92.3% of the patients with normal or nearly normal coronary arteries and in 82.6% of those with stenosis of more than 50% of the luminal diameter. These findings suggest that the drugs are effective through their antispasmodic actions.