Gastric myoelectric and autonomic activities and dyspeptic symptoms in cardiological syndrome X patients.

Syndrome X is defined as anginal chest pain accompanied by objective signs of ischemia on exercise testing but with angiographically normal coronary arteries. The aetiology of this syndrome is still not known. The AIM of this study was to evaluate changes in circadian rhythm of gastric myoelectric activity (MA) and autonomic system (AS) and their correlation with dyspeptic symptoms in SX patients. We studied forty consecutive patients, mean age 46+/-8 yrs with syndrome X and 40 sex-, age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers (47+/-5 yrs). The population of syndrome X patients is heterogeneous combining subgroups with normal and low AS activity with high tonic sympathetic drive. Patients with autonomic dysfunction had a high percent of gastric dysrrhythmia with disturbed sympatho-vagal balance particularly at night. We conclude that dyspeptic symptoms in SX patients with autonomic dysfunction are caused mostly by high adrenergic drive affecting stomach myoelectric activity and inducing gastric dysrrhythmias.