Diagnostic Approach to Patients with Stable Angina and No Obstructive Coronary Arteries

The diagnosis of microvascular angina (MVA) is usually considered in patients presenting with angina symptoms and evidence of MI on non-invasive stress tests but normal coronary arteries at angiography. A definitive diagnosis of MVA, however, would require the presence of coronary microvascular dysfunction. Several invasive (e.g. intracoronary Doppler wire recording and thermodilution) and non-invasive (e.g. PET, cardiac MRI, transthoracic Doppler echocardiography) methods can be applied to obtain a diagnosis. Both endothelium-dependent and -independent coronary microvascular dilator function, as well as increased microvascular constrictor activity, should be investigated. The main issues in the assessment of clinical and diagnostic findings in patients with suspected MVA are discussed and a diagnostic approach is suggested.