[Significance of angina in patients with aortic valvulopathy].

We have analyzed coronary arteriographies of 170 patients, 120 with isolated aortic stenosis and 50 with isolated aortic failure. Patients with stenosis showed higher frequency of angina (73% versus 54%, p = 0.0223). No significant differences were observed with respect to the incidence of the coronary artery disease (26.7% versus 31.8%, p = 0.18). The presence of angina was significantly more specific in aortic failure (specificity 52.4% versus 31.8% in aortic stenosis, p = 0.039). Among the patients with less than 56 years of age, the probability of developing coronary artery disease in absence of angina was 6.3% (1 out of 16), the confidence interval ranging from 1.5% to 30.2%. Our results do not support any modification of the conventional criteria for conducting coronary arteriographies in patients with aortic valvulopathy.