The role of inflammation and anti-inflammatory therapy in non-obstructive coronary artery disease (NOCAD)

Authors

  • Victoria TOFAN Institute of Cardiology
  • Mihail POPOVICI Institute of Cardiology
  • Svetlana COJOCARI Institute of Cardiology
  • Victoria IVANOV Institute of Cardiology
  • Mihaela MUNTEANU Institute of Cardiology
  • Olga DICUSAR Institute of Cardiology
  • Diana TURLACOVA Institute of Cardiology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52692/1857-0011.2025.1-81.15

Keywords:

non-obstructive CAD, microvascular angina, INOCA, ANOCA, colchicine, SGLT2

Abstract

A large proportion of patients undergoing coronary angiography for angina pectoris do not have obstructive epicardial coronary arteries (ANOCA). In these patients, the prevalence of demonstrable ischemia (INOCA) varies between 10% and 30%, depending on the stress test performed. In recent years, research has focused on defining, classifying, and treating these patients according to INOCA endotypes.Inflammation and endothelial dysfunction play a key role in the onset and progression of chronic non-obstructive coronary artery disease (non-obstructive CAD), and identifying the correlation between these mechanisms and the disease itself may offer a targeted therapeutic strategy.This synthesis presents data from the last 10 years of the specialized literature, searched on Google Scholar and PubMed using keywords such as: inflammation in non-obstructive CAD, anti-inflammatory therapy in non-obstructive CAD. The selected studies, with scientific relevance, focused on the clinical importance, mechanism, evaluation, and management of non-obstructive CAD, with particular emphasis on the role of inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and anti-inflammatory therapy.

Author Biographies

Victoria TOFAN, Institute of Cardiology

Doctoral student, scientific researcher; Scientific Laboratory of Interventional Cardiology

Mihail POPOVICI, Institute of Cardiology

Dr. hab. med. sci., univ. prof., acad. ASM; Sci. Lab. of Interventional Cardiology

Svetlana COJOCARI , Institute of Cardiology

Dr. med. sci.; Sci. Lab. of Interventional Cardiology

Victoria IVANOV , Institute of Cardiology

Dr. hab. med. sci.; research prof.; Sci. Lab. of Interventional Cardiology

Mihaela MUNTEANU , Institute of Cardiology

Dr. med. sci.; Sci. Lab. of Interventional Cardiology

Olga DICUSAR, Institute of Cardiology

PhD student; research assoc.; Sci. Lab. of Interventional Cardiology

Diana TURLACOVA, Institute of Cardiology

PhD student; research assoc.; Sci. Lab. of Interventional Cardiology

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Published

2025-10-20

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Research Article

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