Heart rate variability in patients with variant angina: effect of the presence of significant coronary stenosis.

The syndrome of variant angina occurs in patients with a wide spectrum of coronary disease ranging from angiographically normal coronary arteries to severe three-vessel disease. Survival and choice of therapy for these patients are determined by the extent of underlying fixed coronary obstruction. We examined whether heart rate variability (HRV) due to reduced vagal outflow may correlate with the severity of coronary stenoses in such...