Coronary artery spasm - Symptom
Alternative Names
Variant angina; Angina - variant; Prinzmetal's angina
Symptoms:
The main symptom is type of chest pain called angina, which can be felt under the chest bone and is described as:
- Constricting
- Crushing
- Pressure
- Squeezing
- Tightness
It is usually severe. The pain may spread to the neck, jaw, shoulder, or arm.
The pain:
- Often occurs at rest
- May occur at the same time each day, usually between midnight and 8:00 AM.
- Lasts from 5 to 30 minutes
The person may lose consciousness.
Signs and tests:
Tests to diagnose coronary artery spasm may include:
- Reviewed last on: 5/19/2008
- Larry A. Weinrauch, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Private practice specializing in Cardiovascular Disease, Watertown, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
References
Cannon CP, Braunwald E. Unstable angina and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, eds. Libby: Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Saunders; 2007:chap 53.
