Stent and implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation in medically resistant vasospastic angina patient

Abstract

Vasospastic angina, also known as Prinzmetal's angina, is thought to occur due to vascular hyper-reactivity to various stimuli. Response to medical therapy is usually good; however, 1 out of 5 patients has resistant symptoms. Rarely, potentially lethal arrhythmias can occur due to vasospasm, and those patients are reported to have a poorer prognosis. Presently described is a case of resistant vasospastic angina with persistent symptoms under calcium channel blocker and nitrate treatment. The patient presented with hemodynamically unstable rapid-rate ventricular tachycardia, which was quite resistant to recurrent cardioversion. She was treated with stent implantation for definite vasospastic segments of the coronaries, in combination with medical therapy. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator was also implanted for secondary prevention of ventricular arrhythmia, as vasospasm was considered to be a diffuse disease without a certain definitive treatment.

Keywords

• implantable cardioverter defibrillator
• stent
• vasospastic angina.