help

what are the symptom for microvascular disease, has anyone ever heard of this disease? what are the symptom for artery spams and there symptom. has anyone every had microvascluar disease with a negative heart cath.

[kenkeith]

In coronary MVD, plaque can scatter, spread out evenly, or build up into blockages in the tiny coronary arteries.  Spasms (vessel tighting) of the small coronary arteries also can prevent enough oxygen-rich blood from moving through the arteries. This too can cause ischemic heart disease. Symptoms would be angina or no pain with exertion. I have read cardiologists know that ischemia of large vessels (stent to open, by-pass) is not the major cause of heart attacks, but the blockage of the smaller undetected vessels are morfe likely to cause an MI.

Standard tests look for blockages that affect blood flow in the large coronary arteries. However, these tests can't detect plaque that forms, scatters, or builds up in the smallest coronary arteries.  The standard tests also can't detect when the arteries spasm (tighten) or when the walls of the arteries are damaged or diseased.

QUOTE:
"Death rates haven't improved as much in women as they have in men. Heart disease in men and women may differ. Many researchers think that a drop in estrogen levels in women at menopause combined with traditional risk factors for heart disease causes coronary MVD. Therefore, coronary MVD is being studied as a possible cause of heart disease in women. This is because standard tests for CAD don't always detect coronary MVD in women.As a result, women are often thought to be at low risk for heart disease.
WISE Study of Women and Heart Disease Yields Important Findings On Frequently Undiagnosed Coronary Syndrome".

"In as many as 3 million U.S. women with coronary heart disease, cholesterol plaque may not build up into major blockages, but instead spreads evenly throughout the artery wall. As a result, diagnostic coronary angiography reveals that these women have “clear” arteries—no blockages—incorrectly indicating low risk. Despite this, many of these women have a high risk for heart attack, according to newly published research from the National Institutes of Health"..