[Prognosis for ischemic heart disease patients with episodes of painless myocardial ischemia alternating with rare attacks of stenocardia. The correlation between ischemia and ventricular extrasystole].

Repeated annual 24-hour Holter's ECG monitoring sessions were used as a basis for 4-year follow-up of 108 male coronary patients with episodes of painless myocardial ischemia in the course of their everyday routines, and 144 control patients showing no signs of transient asymptomatic ischemia at 24-hour Holter's ECG monitoring. Four years of follow-up demonstrated no differences between the two groups, compared with respect to the incidence of myocardial infarction and associated mortality as well as aggravations of coronary heart disease, in terms of clinical pattern of the disease, the incidence of acute coronary episodes and survival rates. There were no sudden deaths in either of the groups. Transient painless myocardial ischemic episodes are shown to carry no additional risk of myocardial infarction and sudden death in elderly coronary patients with occasional anginal attacks.