Conclusions
dyspnea, angina, Dyspnea, CAD, angina pectoris
CAD
Dyspnea is often underappreciated in the context of stable CAD and data on the occurrence of dyspnea following PCI is scarce or totally lacking. We examined a very well-characterized patient cohort and found that dyspnea is a frequent and relevant symptom in patients with stable CAD. The majority of patients in our study initially presented with angina pectoris and dyspnea. We demonstrate that angina burden and quality of life of patients with concomitant dyspnea responded worse to PCI than in patients without. However, and most importantly, both angina pectoris and dyspnea can be treated effectively with PCI and symptom burden for both was significantly lower 6 months after PCI. These are important observations that should be taken into consideration when evaluating and treating patients with stable CAD and concomitant dyspnea.