Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: Should we submit patients without angina to coronary angiography?

• Main Author: Silva, F
• Publication Date: 2015
• Other Authors: Borges, T, Ribeiro, A, Mesquita, R, Rocha, OL, Magalhães, D, Silva, JC, Azevedo, A, Bettencourt, P
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10216/114695
• topic: Heart failure; Coronary angiography

Coronary artery disease (CAD) accounts for about two-thirds of cases of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) [1]. Angina symptoms and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) are not sufficient to establish an ischemic etiology and according to recommendations coronary angiography (CA) is the gold standard [1–3]. There is a paucity of information on the performance of CA for detecting CAD in HFrEF without known CAD [4]. We aimed to determine the frequency of CAD in HFrEF patients of unknown etiology and without known CAD, and to identify variables associated with the presence and severity of CAD.