Thank you for your informative response, that does clear some things up I've been exposed to all the above. I see my cardiologist in a couple of days so I will follow up on this post.If he doesn't mention the neccessity of a cardiac catherization, I think I will just for some peace of mind.I did get cleared for my knee replacement, although I wonder if there's anyway to find out when I had the event(mild heart attack they say) I'm new to this whole heart issue so I'm learning as I go along. Thanks
If the stress test doesn't show any blockage, there can be microvascular disorder causing blockage. The small, micorscopic blood vessels do not show with a stress test but can cause ischemia and angina (chest pain).
There are spasms of coronary vessel that can cause heart muscle damage notwithstanding no CAD.
Certain drugs (mediation), emotional stress, exposure to extreme cold, cigarette smoking, etc. Also, heart muscle damage due to a virus.