Nifedipine therapy for refractory coronary arterial spasm

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Coronary arterial spasm, often presenting as variant angina, poses a management challenge.
• Intractable cases require effective therapeutic interventions.

Observation:

• Eight patients with symptomatic coronary arterial spasm and normal/mildly abnormal arteriograms were studied.
• Patients experienced frequent anginal attacks despite isosorbide dinitrate therapy.

Findings:

• Nifedipine significantly decreased the frequency of ischemic attacks in all patients.
• Holter monitoring confirmed the absence of ischemic changes during nifedipine treatment.
• Discontinuation or dose reduction of nifedipine led to recurrent anginal attacks.

Implications:

• Nifedipine demonstrates efficacy in managing symptomatic coronary arterial spasm.
• The findings support further investigation of nifedipine for this patient group.