In the vast majority of patients, angina pectoris is the cornerstone on which the diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease are formulated. There is evidence to suggest that transient myocardial ischemia may occur without angina pectoris; such episodes are generally detected during ECG or hemodynamic monitoring. The exact incidence, pathophysiologic nature, and importance of asymptomatic myocardial ischemia is not well known and needs further study.
(Arch Intern Med 141:95-97, 1981)