Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease (Aug 2024)

Objective Ischemia, Subjective Angina, and Psychological Distress in Angina With No Obstructive Coronary Disease

  • Yuting Liu,
  • Wei Jiang,
  • Haochen Wang,
  • Mingyu Xu,
  • Yingxue Liao,
  • Haofeng Zhou,
  • Bingqing Bai,
  • Fengyao Liu,
  • Han Yin,
  • Quanjun Liu,
  • Yanting Liang,
  • Xueju Yu,
  • Lan Guo,
  • Shuxia Wang,
  • Huan Ma,
  • Qingshan Geng

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.124.034644
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 15

Abstract

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Background Angina with no obstructive coronary disease (ANOCA) and ischemia with no obstructive coronary disease, prevalent yet underrecognized conditions, mostly affect women. Previous studies rarely distinguished between them. We aimed to compare the prevalence of objective ischemia through various examinations in women with ANOCA and assess the impact of objective and subjective ischemia on their mental health. Methods and Results A total of 84 eligible women with ANOCA and 42 controls underwent mental stress, pharmacological stress, exercise stress, and Holter testing. Objective evidence of myocardial ischemia was assessed by positron emission tomography‐computed tomography and ECG, and subjective symptoms were graded using the Canadian Cardiovascular Society scale (CCS). Psychological assessments were conducted using 6 scales. Among 84 women with ANOCA, 37 (44%) received a diagnosis of ischemia with no obstructive coronary disease following mental stress testing, 20 (28.6%) through pharmacological stress testing, 14 (21.2%) via exercise stress testing, and 24 (32.9%) from Holter. Mental stress‐induced myocardial ischemia was more prevalent (P0.05). However, ANOCA with milder angina (CCS I) exhibited higher scores across the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist‐Civilian Version and a higher prevalence of Type D personality traits (P<0.05). Conclusions In patients with ANOCA, the positive rate of myocardial ischemia exhibits variability among several noninvasive tests. A worsened psychological state is more closely linked to milder angina symptoms than to ischemia performance, highlighting the importance of focusing on symptom management in their psychological care. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03982901.

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