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[Cold-induced angina pectoris--threatening myocardial ischemia or psychoautonomic dysfunction?]
Zeitschrift Fur Kardiologie
|April 1, 1983
Summary
Cold exposure does not worsen angina pectoris due to myocardial ischemia. Instead, angina under cold conditions is likely triggered by psychovegetative factors, not physical changes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Environmental Medicine
Context:
- Patients with angina pectoris often report increased symptoms in cold weather.
- Coronary artery disease is characterized by severe stenoses.
Purpose:
- To investigate the relationship between cold exposure and angina pectoris.
- To determine if cold conditions induce myocardial ischemia or other ECG changes.
Summary:
- Ten male patients with severe coronary artery disease underwent ECG monitoring during rest and exercise in normal and cold (-6°C) conditions.
- No patient reported cardiac symptoms or showed ECG alterations (arrhythmias, ST depression) upon cold exposure.
- No significant differences in exercise-induced ST changes were observed between normal and cold conditions.
Impact:
- Challenges the notion that cold exposure directly causes angina via ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease.
- Suggests psychovegetative factors, rather than physiological ischemia, are primary drivers of angina in cold environments.
- Highlights the unreliability of cold intolerance history as a diagnostic parameter for angina severity.