RELATION BETWEEN CHANGES IN SEVERITY OF CORONARY-ARTERY STENOSIS AND ANGINAL PATTERNS

Although myocardial ischemia causes angina pectoris, angina and the se verity of coronary artery stenosis in individuals do not correlate. Ho wever, changes in anginal status over time correlated with changes in the severity of coronary artery stenosis as determined by repeated cor onary arteriograms has not been previously studied. Coronary arteriogr ams, done both at entry into the Program on the Surgical Control of th e Hyperlipidemias (POSCH) and 3 years later, were blindly graded for c hanges in overall severity of coronary artery stenosis according to pr otocol by the POSCH Arteriography Review Committee. Arteriographic and clinical data from 376 control subjects (347 men, 29 women) were anal yzed. There was no statistically significant relation over a long-term (3 year) period between the absence, presence, development, or disapp earance of angina pectoris and changes in coronary artery stenosis sev erity as determined by coronary arteriography. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, In c.