Acetylcholine Rechallenge: A First Step Toward Tailored Treatment in Patients With Coronary Artery Spasm

The present study aimed to assess the feasibility and clinical value of acetylcholine (ACh) rechallenge for the detection of coexisting epicardial and microvascular spasm and to determine the efficacy of nitroglycerin in these spasm endotypes.

The coexistence of epicardial and microvascular spasm is difficult to identify; thus, its frequency is unknown. Nitroglycerin treatment is equally recommended for both epicardial and microvascular coronary spasm despite contradictory data.

In this multicenter study, 95 patients with coronary spasm were included to undergo ACh rechallenge, which consisted of repeated ACh provocation 3 minutes after intracoronary nitroglycerin administration using the same dose that previously induced spasm.

In total, 95 patients (age 61 ± 12 years, 69% female) were included. Fifty-five patients (58%) had microvascular spasm, and 40 patients (42%) had epicardial spasm during initial ACh provocation. In 48% of patients with epicardial spasm, ACh rechallenge revealed coexisting nitroglycerin-persistent microvascular spasm. Nitroglycerin administration before ACh rechallenge prevented reinducibility of epicardial spasm in all patients with focal spasm and in 80% of patients with diffuse spasm. Microvascular spasm was prevented in only 20% by prior nitroglycerin administration but was attenuated in another 49% of patients.

This study demonstrates a high frequency of epicardial spasm with coexisting nitroglycerin-persistent microvascular spasm. Intracoronary nitroglycerin was very effective in preventing reinducibility of epicardial spasm, whereas it prevented microvascular spasm in only 20% of patients. ACh rechallenge is a novel method that facilitates the detection of coexisting spasm endotypes and may pave the way towards tailored treatment of vasospastic angina.