Microvascular Dysfunction as Opposed to Conduit Artery Disease Explains Sex-specific Chest Pain in Emergency Department Patients With Low to Moderate Cardiac Risk

Differences in BAR and RH in patients ruled out for myocardial infarction suggest that the pathophysiology of acute chest pain might be sex-specific. Men with chest pain exhibited lower BAR, indicating peripheral conduit artery dysfunction. Conversely, women with chest pain exhibited lower postischemic peak hyperemia, indicative of peripheral microvascular dysfunction. Sex differences in pathophysiology of chest pain and vascular dysfunction could inform development of effective therapeutics for patients with recurrent or persistent chest pain in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease.