Coronary vasospasm (CAS) is when your heart's arteries suddenly constrict, causing spasms that trigger symptoms much like a heart attack. This includes pain and pressure in the chest.
CAS can sometimes cause dangerous heart rhythms, heart attacks, and even sudden death. That's because the narrowing of one or more blood vessels prevents the heart muscle from getting all the oxygen it needs.
Treatments include medicines that dilate and relax your arteries and lifestyle changes.
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Coronary vasospasm (CAS) is a sudden and reversible narrowing of the blood vessels that supply oxygen to your heart muscle. These spasms can cause symptoms that are much like what a heart attack feels like.
Other names for CAS include:
Most people with CAS are between the ages of 40 and 70. The prevalence of CAS decreases after age 70.
CAS is rare and accounts for only two out of every 100 cases of angina.
Kounis syndrome is a little-known form of CAS caused by an allergic reaction to mediators of inflammation, such as histamines and leukotrienes.
Kounis syndrome is also known as allergic angina or allergic myocardial infarction.
CAS happens when your heart's blood vessels narrow. This lessens the supply of oxygen to your heart muscle, causing painful spasms.
Triggers for these spasms include:
In some cases, CAS can form without a known cause or trigger.
CAS occurs most commonly in people:
CAS is more common in men than women.
Left undiagnosed or untreated, it can lead to serious complications, including:
When there's no heart blockage, CAS is the main cause of ischemic, or coronary heart disease. That's when the heart isn't getting enough oxygen or blood.
About 50% of people with angina (chest pain and pressure), and 57% of people with acute coronary syndrome have CAS.
Medical care and lifestyle changes are the mainstays of treating and preventing CAS.
To help prevent CAS:
Warning signs and symptoms of CAS are like those of a heart attack.
You may feel in your chest:
These sensations often occur on the left side of your chest or under your sternum or chest bone. The pain may also move to your neck, jaw, and left arm.
CAS mostly occurs when you're resting. The spasms can be painful enough to wake you up. They can also occur during normal daily activity.
CAS episodes usually last 15 minutes. In some cases, spasms are silent and you won't feel any symptoms.
Often a chronic condition, CAS episodes can happen many times a day, yearly (or less), or something in between.
If you have CAS, call 911 or go to the emergency room if:
CAS can be hard to diagnose. If your doctor suspects you have CAS they should do a complete cardiovascular exam.
They may also want to do one or some of the following tests:
We can help you reduce your risk for CAS. We can also help prevent it from happening again.
When treating CAS, the goals are to:
Along with suggesting lifestyle changes, doctors mainly treat CAS with medicine.
Your doctor may instruct you to place one or more nitroglycerin tablets under your tongue during a CAS attack. This helps relax your heart arteries to reduce chest pain and control spasms.
If your symptoms don't improve after taking it, seek medical help right away. Only a health care professional can tell whether you're having a heart attack.
Common drugs to help prevent CAS attacks include:
CAS is often a chronic condition. Between 4% to 19% of people have repeat episodes.
The prognosis for CAS depends on your age.
Some people may get acute coronary syndrome, an umbrella term for the sudden blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle. These people have a higher risk of poor prognosis if they're older or have an impaired left heart ventricle.
The risk for an event such as a heart attack is highest three months after a CAS attack.
Last reviewed by a UPMC medical professional on 2024-10-01.
