Extracorporeal myocardial shockwave therapy; a precious blast for refractory angina patients

Abstract Introduction Refractory Angina Pectoris (RAP) dramatically affects patients' life quality and medical costs. External Shockwave Myocardial Revascularization (ESMR) improves the cardiac blood flow thanks to its pro-angiogenetic action on ischaemic tissues. We hereby describe our experience of ESMR in RAP patients. Materials and methods This is a retrospective study encompassing all patients referred to OSR for RAP treatment. Efficacy of ESMR was assessed considering the difference between pre and post therapy data in SAQ score and CCS, stress test performance, 24 h ECG monitoring, NT-proBNP and echocardiographic measures. Results From a total of 97 patients with RAP, 19 patients underwent ESMR, whereas 4 were considered as control group. After the end of the treatment, ESWT group showed a significant improvement in CCS class (− 1.32 ± 0.58; p  Conclusion ESMR is an efficient therapy for refractory angina capable to improve both symptoms and instrumental tests.