ERGONOVINE-TESTING-DIRECTED THERAPY AND LONG-TERM OUTCOME OF SUDDEN-DEATH SURVIVORS WITH NO APPARENT HEART-DISEASE

Coronary artery vasospasm, the most common cause of sudden death in pa tients with structurally normal hearts, is not well recognized, We des cribe 2 survivors of sudden death with ergonovine-inducible coronary a rtery vasospasm successfully treated long term with calcium channel bl ockers, Of the reported(17 worldwide) patients with documented vasospa sm-mediated sudden cardiac death treated with calcium blockers, none h ave had a recurrent event, This is substantially less than the 6-month sudden-death rate of 18% of untreated vasospasm, Tide advocate that e rgonovine provocative testing of sudden-death survivors with structura lly normal hearts, followed by appropriate therapy with calcium channe l blockers, be the standard approach for these highly treatable patien ts.