Sudden death during Holter electrocardiogram monitoring in a patient with variant angina.

We report a case of sudden death due to variant angina during Holter electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. The patient, a 60-year-old man, had been aware of chest discomfort lasting less than one minute at midnight 2 days earlier. Because variant angina or arrhythmia was suspected, Holter ECG monitoring was performed. The patient spent a whole day without a recurrence of chest pain before going to bed, but at midnight he developed sudden chest pain, and died immediately after taking a sublingual tablet of isosorbide-dinitrite. Analysis of the Holter ECG revealed ventricular fibrillation after several ventricular premature beats following ST-segment elevation in both the CM5 and NASA leads. This case shows that sudden death from variant angina may occur within a few days after the first onset, and also highlights whether priority should be given to making a definite diagnosis or giving treatment when variant angina is strongly suspected.