title: Is cardiac migraine a clinical entity?
abstract: Chest pain because of a disorder of the coronary circulation is assumed to be ischemic in nature. Irrespective of the underlying pathophysiological mechanism, it is accepted that all routes lead to myocardial ischemia in the pathway to anginal pain. The authors describe a patient with a history of vasoactive disorders including migraine, asthma, documented variant angina with prolonged episodes of chest pain, and scintigraphic evidence of inferior and posterior wall ischemia during exercise and ergonovine testing in the absence of significant underlying stenoses. Remarkably, severe retrosternal chest pain, ST segment depression in multiple leads, and relative increased uptake in the inferior and posterior walls on Tc-99m sestamibi tomographic images developed during pharmacologic coronary vasodilatation with dipyridamole, leading the authors to speculate as to the possible existence of a nonischemic chest pain syndrome caused by coronary vasodilatation either in association with variant angina or as a separate entity.
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Cardiology Division, Montreal Heart Institute, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lette
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Mercier
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lespérance
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arsenault
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerino
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nattel
mesh_terms: D000788:Angina Pectoris, Variant / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D004176:Dipyridamole; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004874:Ergonovine; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi
chemical_list: D004176:Dipyridamole; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi; D004874:Ergonovine