Yamashita K, Takeuchi M, Nakashima Y
Second Department of Internal Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Fukuoka, Japan.
Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 1998 May-Jun;21(3):249-51. doi: 10.1007/s002709900255.
Recruitable coronary collaterals may appear when spasm suddenly occludes the coronary artery. We report a patient with variant angina who had visible collateral vessels on a control coronary angiogram, despite the presence of normally appearing coronary arteries. These collaterals disappeared after intracoronary administration of nitroglycerin. These findings suggest that recruitable collateral vessels can remain patent long after spontaneous attacks of angina have resolved, and become visible when there is a pressure difference between two small coronary arteries.
