[Decreased tonus of the epicardial coronary arteries in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy]. / Snizhenie tonusa épikardial'nykh koronarnykh arterii u bol'nykh s dilatatsionnoi kardiomiopatiei.

ABSTRACT

The tone of coronary artery (CA) was evaluated in 26 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCMP) and 20 patients with atypical chest pain, intact CA, and normal left ventricular contractility served as controls. All the patients underwent selective polyviewed coronarography, left and right ventriculography. The configurations of the great CA were examined by a computer which calculated their mean diameter in diastole (Dd) and systole (Ds), their difference (d) and the elasticity index (EI) by the formula d/Dsx 100%. Twelve patients with DCMP and 10 control patients had repeated left coronary contrasting after intracoronary injection of nitroglycerin, 150 mg, they authors calculated the baseline Dd (Dd1), Dd after nitroglycerin (Dd2), the degree of nitroglycerin-induced CA dilation. Ds was found to be greater than Dd in the two groups. The mean CA diameter was significantly more in DCMP patients who had lower D and EI. Intracoronary nitroglycerin injection caused a less marked increase ion the Dd of the anterior descending CA in DCMP patients. Thus, the computer-aided analysis of coronarograms and nitroglycerin test allowed one to quantitatively determined the decreases in CA in DCMP.