The prevalence of coronary artery disease was investigated in 18 patients hospitalized for acute diastolic heart failure without clinical and electrocardiographic evidence of myocardial ischemia on admission. On the basis of coronary angiography, 7 patients had coronary artery disease and 4 had ischemic heart disease. In addition, besides uncontrolled hypertension and several systemic factors, silent myocardial ischemia potentially contributed to acute exacerbation of heart failure for at least 5 patients with coronary artery disease, according to either elevation in troponin I or segmental wall motion abnormalities.