New hope for INOCA patients suffering from angina

Imperial College London magazine announces that Dr Ranil De Silva (Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, UK) with the support of the British Heart Foundation will conduct a study, the REMEDY-PILOT, to evaluate whether the placement in the coronary sinus of an hourglass-shaped scaffold, known as the Neovasc Reducer, is an option in patients with ischaemia in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease (INOCA) who have angina symptoms.

Patients with INOCA

This specific category of patients suffers from angina with no evidence of epicardial coronary artery disease; the dysfunction that generates angina is rather attributable to the microvascular level. Patients with INOCA have a low quality of life, treatment options are limited, and there are still no validated interventional approaches that reduce angina symptoms.

Study objectives

Dr De Silva and his research group speculate that coronary sinus narrowing would result in a redistribution of blood flow to ischemic areas and consequent pain relief. If the hypothesis is confirmed by the results of the study, the REMEDY-PILOT will represent the basis for future multicenter trials in which the Reducer is implanted in patients with INOCA and angina.