[Spinal cord stimulation in severe angina pectoris. Reduced ischemia and increased quality of life]

Promising clinical results have been obtained with spinal cord stimulation which in recent years has been used for treating the subgroup of patients with angina pectoris that has proved intractable to conventional medical and surgical treatment strategies. According to recent reports, the anti-angina effect of spinal cord stimulation is associated with a reduction in myocardial ischaemia due to decreased myocardial oxygen consumption. Candidates for the treatment require careful screening. It is important to ensure that the patient is capable of full co-operation, and that the chest pain is due to true reversible myocardial ischaemia. Results in the 206 patients given implants to date have been encouraging, with reductions both in the frequency of angina attacks and in the consumption of short-acting nitroglycerin.