A 61-year-old woman's heart tests pointed to one of the most feared findings in cardiology. Her stress test suggested trouble in the left main coronary artery, and an angiogram appeared to show severe narrowing at the openings of both of her major coronary arteries.
Then doctors injected a nitrate directly into the arteries. Within 30 to 60 seconds, both apparent blockages disappeared. The problem was not fixed plaque but severe spasm of the arteries, and her doctors linked it to too much thyroid hormone from her daily medication.
