ABSTRACT
One-hundred and ninety-four patients with unstable angina pectoris (91 "in crescendo" angina and 103 new onset angina) underwent coronary angiography. The angiographic data from both groups were compared in order to discover whether angiographic aspects were related to the various clinical symptoms of coronary artery disease. Patients with recent onset angina had a significant increase (p less than 0.0001) of mono-vessel disease, whereas multi-vessel disease was prevalent in patients with "in crescendo" angina pectoris. Higher prevalence of coronary collaterals was observed in patients with "in crescendo" angina (p less than 0.005). No significant difference was observed in ejection fraction of the two groups. A further analysis was performed in 100 patients with unstable angina pectoris but without prior myocardial infarction (42 "in crescendo" angina and 58 recent onset angina). Also in these patients were found the same results; with the exception of ejection fraction which was more slight in patients with "in crescendo" angina (p less than 0.01). These data confirm that patients with unstable angina are an heterogeneous group in which comparison is unreliable and that the severity of clinical symptoms is not related to the degree of angiographic coronary lesions.
