William Heberden and Myron Prinzmetal: angina pectoris

The most significant accounts of angina pectoris appeared in the medical literature separated by nearly two centuries. They were Heberden's initial description of classic angina and Prinzmetal's report of the variant form. Angina pectoris represents a transient myocardial oxygen deficiency. It is usually related to atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, but there are a number of less common etiologies, most notably aortic stenosis. Stable and unstable forms exist, with stable angina being further subclassified as being of one of four patterns: classic, variant, atypical, and angina equivalent.