Variant angina pectoris is characterized by
chest symptoms at
rest and
transient ST elevation on the
electrocardiography due to
coronary artery spasm. Although most
patients with coronary
spasm respond well to medical
treatment with
vasodilators such as
calcium channel blockers and
nitrates, some
patients show intractable attack of
coronary vasospasm despite standard medical
therapy. We experienced 50-year-old
woman with intractable
chest pain due to
coronary artery spasm,
who suffered from
ventricular fibrillation despite continuous intravenous
nitrate therapy.