Nonischemic chest pain induced by coronary interventions: a prospective study comparing coronary angioplasty and stent implantation.

BACKGROUND: Chest pain frequently occurs without any signs of ischemia within the first 24 hours after coronary interventions. To test the hypothesis that this pain may be due to local vessel injury ("stretch pain"), we performed a prospective study enrolling patients after PTCA, stent implantation, or diagnostic coronary angiography alone.

METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 145 patients after coronary angiography were evaluated by a validated questionnaire for quantifying postinterventional chest pain within 24 hours. To detect myocardial ischemia, all patients were evaluated with a 12-lead ECG and cardiac isoenzymes immediately after the procedure and the morning after. After stent implantation, 21 of the 51 patients (41.2%) developed chest pain, compared with 4 of the 33 patients (12.1%) undergoing PTCA and 6 of the 61 patients (9.8%) with a diagnostic angiography (P<0.001). Of these 31 patients who developed chest pain, only 3 (9.7%) felt that the pain was similar to previously experienced angina pectoris. The minimal lumen diameter after intervention was significantly larger in the stent group than in the PTCA group (3.14+/-0.75 versus 1.95+/-0.67 mm; P<0. 001). No patient had changes in the ECG compared with before intervention, but 3 patients after stent implantation had a rise in cardiac isoenzymes. No other major adverse cardiac events occurred until discharge.

CONCLUSIONS: Nonischemic chest pain develops in almost half of all patients undergoing stent implantation and seems to be related to vessel overexpansion caused by the stent in the diseased vessel segment.