Limited coronary flow reserve after dipyridamole in patients with ergonovine-induced coronary vasoconstriction.

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Abstract
Patients with anginal chest pain despite angiographically normal coronary arteries and left ventricles may have abnormalities of coronary flow reserve. Twenty-five patients were found to have limited flow reserve during rapid atrial pacing after administration of 0.15 to 0.30 mg iv ergonovine, associated with precipitation of chest pain and hemodynamic and metabolic evidence of myocardial ischemia. No significant narrowing occurred in epicardial coronary artery luminal diameter. An additional 15 patients had no chest pain during pacing; because they developed significantly higher great cardiac vein flow and lower coronary resistance they were considered to have normal vasodilator reserve. After administration of dipyridamole (0.5 to 0.75 mg/kg iv), the lowest absolute levels to which coronary resistance fell (0.79 +/- 0.23 vs 0.47 +/- 0.12 mm Hg X min/ml; p less than .001) and the maximal absolute levels to which great cardiac vein flow rose (134 +/- 34 vs 202 +/- 45 ml/min; p less than .001) were impaire...